


Sins of the father

by Raven201



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types
Genre: Destroy Ending, Gen, Post-Mass Effect 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-02-04 01:02:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 92,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12759903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven201/pseuds/Raven201
Summary: Years after the war with the reapers the galaxy is, officially, enjoying a period of unprecedented unity. Unfortunately with greater cooperation between rebuilt governments there is also a greater number of extremist groups that are only interested in their own species. Eleena T'soni works for a multi-species task force that is designed to investigate and prevent attacks from these extremist groups.





	1. Chapter 1

“ _A spokesperson for the Batarian Confederation has confirmed that their government plans to sign the Treaty of London after the confirmation of their councilor Dholla Barcob has occurred. Barcob, who was a political prisoner of the Batarian Hegemony, rose to prominence in the years after the war with the Reapers by working closely with Admiral Steven Hackett to help begin mending the rift between Humans and Batarians_.”

The news report continued on but Eleena T’soni muted the viewscreen and turned her attention to the pile of datapads on her desk. She scratched at one of her crests as she thought of the upcoming confirmation and then signing of the Treaty of London. Her work had increased substantially after the public announcements of both events. Not that there hadn’t been a large amount of work before.

Ever since the end of the war with the Reapers the galaxy had been a different place. With so many civilian governments crippled it was the military leaders that controlled the resources and personnel of the various species. This led to an unprecedented level of cooperation and unity between species as post war reconstruction took place. With this cooperation between species the previous citadel council was seen as ineffective and even unnecessary by many and for a time was disbanded. The council was later remade with all species having a seat in order to promote cooperation between all species in the galaxy rather than being a governing body that primarily promoted policies of benefit to the asari, salarians and turians.

Unfortunately the newfound unity amongst the different species of the galaxy led to the rise of supremacist movements and extremists that wanted to focus only on their own species at the expense of others. After several high profile attacks on political supporters of galactic unity a multi-species task force was set up to investigate and prevent these attacks.

It was that same task force that Eleena was now an Assistant Director for. Her appointment to the position had been seen by some as controversial. She was forty one years old and by asari standards still young and almost a child. Her time as a detective for C-Sec and as a field agent for the task force were not quite enough to make everyone, though mostly just other asari, take her seriously. Regardless of what others thought, her predecessor, and now the task force Director, had expressed his full confidence in her when he offered her the position and he had had no reasons to complain since she accepted.

She was authorizing additional resources for investigations when a call came through to her terminal.

“T’soni,” she answered.

“Ma’am, Director Caeldros is here to see you.”

Eleena frowned. Her predecessor and friend Septilus Caeldros was supposed to be in a meeting with the Executor. And if he needed something they had secure lines of communication he could use. She wasn’t sure why he was coming to see her in person but suspected that it couldn’t be anything good. “Send him in.”

Standing, Eleena watched as a turian with red colonial markings and a partially missing mandible came into her office.

“Director.” She offered her hand to shake in the common human gesture that had become quite popular across the galaxy.

Caeldros’ mandibles twitched in amusement as he returned the gesture. “I sometimes forget that you are an asari with all these human mannerisms you have.”

Eleena rolled her eyes and immediately regretted the action as it only made Caeldros smile. “Ok you might have a point.” Taking her seat Eleena gestured for Caeldros to do the same. “Still I doubt that you’d come here just to point out all my human mannerisms. So what can I do for you?”

Caeldros leaned back in his seat for a moment before motioning around at the office.

Nodding, Eleena typed a command to her omni-tool. A series of mechanical shifting noises and an electrical hum could be heard from behind all of the walls, floor and ceiling. The room had been sealed, preventing anyone from listening in on what might be said between them.

Once the room had been sealed Caeldros gave Eleena a grave look. “I need you to drop whatever it is you’re working on and follow this up.” He pulled an OSD from a pocket and handed it to her.

Accepting the OSD, Eleena shook her head. “Caeldros you know that we’re all starting to get stretched thin here with the confirmation and signing of the treaty coming up. I can’t just drop the investigations my people and I are working on.”

“I know that your people are handling a lot. That’s why I persuaded the Executor and Palaven’s Primarch give your people some additional resources and personnel.” He paused and looked at Eleena with an expression that seemed to urge calm. “Assistant Director Arlana will also be assuming control of everything that you’re currently working on.”

Eleena felt her temper rise. Jarin Arlana was a salarian that was well known in the task force for being an unlikable individual more concerned with his bloodline’s negotiating position for mating rights than the task force’s work. “You can’t be serious. You’re pushing me out and giving all my work to Arlana?”

Caeldros kept his own voice level as he responded. “He is fully qualified to handle everything you were working on. Now I know that you and others have had problems with him. Spirits know that he and I have argued on numerous occasions. But his contributions to the task force have helped keep the galaxy safe and stable.”

Grudgingly, Eleena had to admit that Arlana had been instrumental in several significant investigations the task force had been a part of. Her eyes then fell to the OSD she held in her hand. Frowning, she held it up. “What is this?”

Somewhat relieved that for the time being Eleena was not going to argue more about Arlana, Caeldros began to talk. “Information about a group that the Executor and I think is planning an attack on Dholla Barcob.”

“How good is the information?”

“Very.” Caeldros gave Eleena a very serious look. “Eleena you’re one of the best investigators that I have but what’s more important is that I trust you. I need you to personally look into this.”

Eleena’s own face grew serious as she looked at the OSD. Caeldros wouldn’t have given her current workload to someone else or insisted on the security measures for their talk if he wasn’t concerned. “What aren’t you telling me that I won’t find on here?”

“The source for this information was supposed to meet with me and the Executor today. But they never made it. We later got word that their shuttle was found adrift. There was a tiny hole in the hull that was supposedly an accident due to a lack of maintenance.”

“But you suspect otherwise.”

Caeldros nodded. “I do. But regardless of the reason the end result was the same. It emptied the shuttle of all oxygen and killed the source and everyone else onboard.”

“Who was the source?”

“A deep cover Batarian C-Sec officer.”

Eleena gave her friend a quizzical look. “I know that human and batarian relations have gotten a lot better after the Alliance funded the Batarian Recovery Program and rebuilt most of their colonies but I didn’t know C-Sec was openly recruiting them.”

“They’re not. According the the Executor during the war C-Sec began quietly recruiting a number of Batarian refugees. The idea was to have people on the inside of the Hegemony once the galaxy was rebuilt. But then the Hegemony never recovered and Barcob and others worked for years to unite the Batarians under new more progressive leadership.”

“So the Executor then had a bunch of informants that weren’t all that useful since what became the Batarian Confederation was openly cooperating with other species.”

“Precisely. Of course the Executor is not one to waste resources so he asked those recruited if they would go undercover within the remaining pockets of extremists that supported the return of the Hegemony.”

Eleena leaned forward slightly as she listened. She had to give the Executor credit for thinking so far ahead. From everything her parents had shared with her about the war she had gathered that long term thinking was not a luxury most could have afforded. “So you think that the remnants of the Hegemony are going to try and attack the confirmation?”

“Yes and no.” Caeldros’ mandibles moved slightly in a way that indicted he was trying to put things together. “What you have there is all the information that the undercover agent reported on the group before he died but when I went over it…” He shook his in a frustrated way. “The resources are fairly substantial. They have much more than any of the other Hegemony hold outs and seem to have discipline that others did not have.”

“You’re worried that this group has never come up on our threat assessments until now. Think that they’re preparing an attack on the confirmation itself? That would make for a powerful statement and could put all the councilors at risk.” Eleena turned the OSD over in her hand. It wasn’t comforting to think that a group might be out there with enough resources and discipline to launch an attack on the entire council.

Sighing, Caeldros shook his head. “I worry about a lot of things. That’s one of the downsides of getting old.” He stood up and looked around the office noting the superficial changes that Eleena had made to it. “I can’t say anything for sure other than I don’t like this one.”

A crease formed between Eleena’s eyes and she tried to think of the various ways an individual or organizations could launch an attack on the council and Dholla Barcob, it was a long list. She looked up at her friend and was sad to admit that he was getting on in years. He had not yet peaked but they both knew he did not have many years left before he would voluntarily step down. While he enjoyed what he did he was a Turian and he would not allow his own pride to get in the way of the security of the galaxy or the Hierarchy.

She stood and watched Caeldros for a moment before speaking. “I’ll take care of this. And if they are a serious threat then we’ll deal with it.”

He turned to face her and gave her a grateful nod. “Believe me when I say I hope that I’m wrong and this is just the worries of an old man. But they have the resources and if they are planning an attack on Barcob...”

“Then we need to know about it.” Eleena held up the OSD and gave him a smile. “But if you’re wrong you should know that I’ll be very unhappy you gave all my work to Arlana for nothing.”

Caeldros chuckled and motioned for Eleena to unseal the room. “Duly noted.”

After he left Eleena returned to her seat and looked at the OSD. She had known that the confirmation of a Batarian councilor, even to the newly reformed council, would cause unrest. Despite that knowledge she had hoped that after almost everyone in the galaxy had come together behind her father that things would have been different. Unfortunately under the Hegemony the Batarians had not made many friends in the galaxy.

Going through the information that was on the OSD made Eleena wish she had known the undercover agent. Whoever they were they had been thorough in the information they had given C-Sec regarding the resources the group had access to. Enough ships to rival the old pirate or slaver gangs that used to terrorize the Traverse. Military grade weapons that seemed to mostly be from the now defunct Batarian State Arms. The group also had enough personnel to pilot and maintain the fleet as well as a standard turian company’s worth of trained ground troops.

While the ships and weapons the group had access to worried her, Eleena was more concerned with the company of trained fighters. The undercover agent believed that there were at least fifteen former members of the Special Intervention Unit, the batarian special forces. Even if they were not sharing their SIU training with the others there were still fifteen highly skilled and dangerous individuals that could pose serious risks to security during the confirmation and signing of the treaty.

In one of the final reports that the agent had managed to send to the Executor they had sent a name of the senior SIU operative, Karek Brathor. Bringing up a holographic keyboard Eleena started searching the few records that were available to her on the batarian SIU. She did not have any hope of tracking the group’s fleet while it was in transit but she might be able to get some information on Karek Brathor and the other former SIU members or maybe she’d even find locations in the Attican Traverse or Terminus Systems that they might use as safe harbors.

Unfortunately the information that Eleena and the task force did have access to could be described as spotty at best. It did not help that the SIU along with many old batarian military units been inactive for over forty years. Beyond the passage of time the reapers caused many records to be lost when they flooded batarian space. There was also the secrecy of the old Hegemony which made finding records, even with the help of the new Confederation, all the more difficult.

Sighing, Eleena removed the OSD and powered down her terminal. The records she had access to through the task force weren’t going to give her any leads on the former SIU operatives. She would have to visit the batarian embassy here on the citadel or even Khar’Shan to try and get access to the old military records of the Hegemony.

Checking the time, she got up from her desk and began packing up. With all of her previous assignments now handed over to Arlana, Eleena decided to return home for the day and think on the data in the OSD. Before heading out she called up the batarian embassy and scheduled a meeting with their chief of security for the following day. With that last bit of business taken care of she pulled on her jacket and headed home.

* * *

 

-Somewhere in Terminus space

Karek Brathor nodded in approval as he observed his men running the course again. It had taken years but he finally had gathered together enough resources and information to strike one final blow for the Hegemony. But what was more important than the final act on behalf of the Hegemony was the personal vengeance both for himself and those that followed him.

Almost all of the men and women that followed him were similar in that they had lost loved ones to the galactic powers that were now crawling all over what had once been Batarian space. It was usually through human actions like the Theshaca raids or the complete slaughter at Torfan but they had all lost friends or family at the hands of humanity while the Council sat and watched.

He turned and sat back down at his personal terminal where he went back over the intelligence that he had gathered. As he went back over his plan his thoughts wandered back to what had been. The Hegemony had been his life. He had done great and terrible things in its name. And now everything that he had once fought for was gone. The traitor Dholla Barcob and her human allies had seen to that. Hundreds of years of batarian civilization just tossed aside and the names of all those that had died at human hands were forgotten.

His fist clenched in anger before he forced himself to calm down. He was not a fool. He knew that it was far too late for the Hegemony to ever return. But he and the men and women with him could still strike a final blow for the Hegemony that would be remembered in history.

He could still feel his anger simmering below the surface and tried to think of his home and of his wife and child. He had had years of happiness with them despite his work with the SIU often keeping him from home. They had been planning a trip for when he returned from an operation when the humans and their actions had taken them from him.

Karek closed all four of his eyes as he remembered hearing the reports of what had happened. He hadn’t believed it at the time. What happened shouldn’t have been possible. But somehow the humans had managed the impossible and his family was gone. He had been planning to lead an operation in retaliation when the damn reapers had struck and slaughtered their way through batarian space.

Slowly, Karek opened his eyes and pulled up the only holo he still had of his family. Everything else had been lost when his home had been destroyed and then when the reapers had invaded. He fixed all four of his eyes on his wife and daughter’s faces. He missed them both so much. His fist again clenched in anger.

“Sir?”

His head snapped up at the voice. He had been too busy focused on his thoughts that he failed to hear his second in command, Branya Ghan’ganak, approach. “Excuse me. My mind was elsewhere.” Taking a final look at his family Karek closed the holo and gave Ghan’ganak his full attention. “What can I do for you?”

Branya stood at ease as she spoke. Despite the Hegemony being gone for almost four decades she still maintained the same discipline she had during her time in the SIU. “I just received word from your contact. The undercover C-Sec agent has been dealt with.”

Karek sat up a little straighter as he nodded. “Did he make contact with anyone before he died?” The discovery of the undercover agent in their midst had been a serious blow especially so close to their operation. He needed to know what the extent of the damage might be.

Branya shook her head. “No. He was scheduled to meet with the Executor and the director of the task force but the shuttle was sabotaged enroute to the citadel.”

The news that the agent had not been able speak to anyone about their plans was a relief but Karek was still concerned about the security of their plans. C-Sec was not a direct threat to them out in Terminus space but the task force had the ability to pursue leads throughout the galaxy. “Do we know if the task force has diverted resources to look into what happened?”

Again Branya shook her head. “Nothing official, according to our contact. However the director did have unscheduled meetings with two of his assistant directors. It’s possible that he tasked them with following up on the investigation.”

“It is possible.” Karek began to think about Septilus Caeldros. He had been a member of the Turian’s Blackwatch unit and personally served Palavan’s Primarch Victus during the reaper war. After the war he had chosen to leave Blackwatch and serve in the newly formed task force where he was quickly rose to a leadership position. Given his history Karek doubted that Septilus Caeldros would just give an assignment to anyone even one of his assistant directors if he did not trust them. “Which assistant directors did he meet with?”

“The salarian Jarin Arlana and the asari Eleena T’soni.”

Karek felt his anger grow as he heard the name T’soni and was reminded of the human Shepard. He took a breath and focused. Frowning he thought about what the turian Caeldros might have done. “He would not have tasked Jarin Arlana with a quiet investigation. From everything that we have heard Arlana is an exceptional decision maker that is able to prioritize operations and resources but he is not a field agent.”

Branya nodded at Karek’s explanation. She had dealt with the Salarian STG before and respected their skills but Arlana had not personally taken part in operations and instead had run them from TOCs. It did not mean that he was not dangerous but it did mean he was an unlikely candidate to personally conduct an investigation for the task force.

“Eleena T’soni.” Karek went through everything that he had heard about the young asari. She had been a member of C-Sec’s investigative branch after training alongside the former Asari Justicar Samara. While there T’soni had also received training from C-Sec’s Special Response division and by all accounts had been an exceptional officer. Her work with the task force had been more difficult to find but she had served as a field agent for them for some time before being given a leadership role by Septilus Caeldros. What was more significant was that T’soni did not seem to have any real loyalties to the asari government. She had deliberately chosen to not serve in the asari military and instead had chosen to serve with C-Sec. It suggested that she had more loyalties to the galaxy at large than her species making her a neutral and objective actor. “If director Caeldros was planning to have someone run a quiet investigation then she would be an ideal candidate. She learned from an Asari Justicar and has had years of practical experience at running and personally taking part in investigations and other field operations.”

“What would you like us to do, sir?”

“For now this is all just speculation on my part. It is possible that Caeldros spoke with them for some other reason.” Karek looked up at Branya and could tell that she also had her doubts that Caeldros’ meetings were merely coincidence. “Call our contact. Ask for any information on Eleena T’soni’s actions. We do not want any more surprises.”

* * *

 

-Citadel

Having finally made it home Eleena was walking to the kitchen when the sound of something running towards her made her spin around. “No! Wai-” Before she finished speaking she was knocked to the ground. She groaned and rubbed at her crest before her face was assaulted by something hot and wet. “Ugh. Watson.” Eleena grumbled but broke into a grin as her pet varren began licking her face. “Yeah I’m happy to see you too but we’ve talked about this. You don’t tackle me just because I left you with Lynora for the day.”

“He may have been your constant companion since your pre maiden years but that doesn’t mean he will always listen.”

Eleena looked up and saw her girlfriend’s purple face smiling down at her. “Yeah I guess this is proof of that.” She noticed that Lynora was still in a business dress. “Just got back then?”

Lynora nodded and helped pull Watson from Eleena. “My meetings went faster than I expected.” She smiled and gave Watson a pat. “Of course it helps when they think I might unleash a bloodthirsty varren on them if they don’t wrap things up quickly.”

Chuckling, Eleena sat up and gave Lynora a quick kiss. “I know you spent almost a century with Eclipse but don’t you think that now you’re a businesswoman you should use a bit more restraint?”

“But I did.” A grin spread across Lynora’s face. “I only implied that I’d let Watson loose on them but I didn’t actually do it.”

Rolling her eyes Eleena got up and this time made it to the kitchen. “Guess that’s a good development on your part. Don’t need to hear the news report if you hadn’t changed.” She put on a stereotypical reporter’s voice. “And in other news the founder and head of Twin Moons Security Services was arrested earlier today after having her business partner eaten by a varren. More after a word from our sponsor.”

Lynora laughed. “Don’t tempt me. If I have to sit through another day long meeting about our quarterly earnings I might just let Watson loose.” She followed Eleena into the kitchen and watched as Watson marched up to and wait expectantly at the refrigeration unit. “Looks like someone is hungry.”

“Looks like it.” Eleena opened up the unit and pulled out two pyjaks that she had seasoned and cooked the night before. She then held them up to Watson. “Ok they aren’t hot like the ones from yesterday but you should still like them.”

Watson sniffed the pyjaks and the spikes on his back fluttered in approval. He held both pyjaks in his mouth and made his way to the apartments’ terrace to eat.

As she watched the varren leave with his dinner Lynora shook her head. “You spoil him too much.”

Eleena put on an offended look at Lynora’s words. “He’s loved not spoiled.” She then held up a bottle of wine and then poured a glass when Lynora nodded in approval. Before handing the glass over Eleena grabbed another bottle and poured herself some honey mead.

“Thank you.” Lynora accepted her glass and raised it to Eleena. “Anyway what about you? Why are you here early?” She asked after taking a sip of wine.

“Caeldros.” Eleena said after drinking from her own glass. “He gave me a new assignment.”

“Dear, usually when your boss gives you another assignment you’re working late.”

“Had all my other investigations handed over to Arlana.” Despite her accepting attitude had earlier with Caeldros, Eleena was still frustrated at having all of her work just handed over to someone else. She glared down at her glass and shook her head in annoyance.

Lynora felt bad as she knew Eleena was not fond of Arlana but she also couldn’t help but laugh while watching Eleena’s face. “You are so human sometimes. Emotions right out in the open.” She nodded over to the jacket Eleena had managed to take off before Watson tackled her. “Much better than your serious work look and attitude.”

“I’m not that bad when I’m working,” Eleena said defensively.

“Dear, you would not be out of place in old Earth cyberpunk media.” Her omni-tool glowed and she smiled in a way that always got under Eleena’s skin. “I can pull up examples if you want.”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Eleena mumbled into her glass.

Pretending not to have heard, Lynora began going through the extranet and pulled up several images of a character called Adam Jensen. “See? Tell me your jacket and dour expression don’t look just like him.”

Seeing the images, Eleena felt her cheeks grow warm. Lynora’s smirk only confirmed that her face must have gone dark with an embarrassed blush. “Bite me.” Eleena grumbled as she turned around and started pulling things out to prepare some food.

“Hm. No I don’t think so.” Lynora came up behind Eleena and gave her ass a sharp smack. “You’d just enjoy it.” She smirked at the way Eleena jerked. She then sauntered off to change into more comfortable clothes before helping with the food.

After sharing a meal together and some more teasing about Eleena’s more human traits both Eleena and Lynora were on the couch together as the news played in the background.

“Confirmation of Dholla Barcob as the first batarian councilor has already led to protests outside of the batarian embassy. Most protesters are survivors or relatives of those that lived through batarian pirate raids in the Attican Traverse.”

Sighing, Lynora scratched at one of her crests. “You’d think that nothing else was happening in the galaxy. News has been going crazy ever since the announcement of the batarian councilor.”

Eleena shrugged. “Can’t say you’re wrong but for me at least it’s still pretty significant.”

“Yes but not everyone works for an anti-terrorism task force,” Lynora said dryly.

“True.” The mention of the confirmation made Eleena think about her new assignment and the SIU lead that she hoped might give her an idea of where Karek Brathor might be found. She wasn’t able to think much on the assignment as a finger ran along the back of her neck and made her shudder.

“Now now. We’ve talked about this, my dear.” Lynora spoke in a stern but playful voice. “No getting lost in thoughts of work while we’re home together.”

Eleena tried to shift away from Lynora’s teasing fingers. “I know, I know. Just hoping that a meeting tomorrow will actually give me a lead.” A thought struck her and she looked apologetically at Lynora. “Actually I’ve got a question for you.” At the disapproving look she got Eleena lifted her hands in surrender. “Just the one and then I’ll drop it for the night. I swear.”

Lynora fixed Eleena with a look that promised there would be a price for breaking their house rules. “You may ask.”

Trying to ignore the look Lynora gave her, Eleena asked her question. “During your time with Eclipse did you ever run into any batarians that used to be SIU? I might be dealing with some former operatives and the few records I’ve access to don’t say much.”

It was a moment before Lynora answered. Her expression had become grim. “Your father, she was an N7. And I’m sure that you’ve run into some former Blackwatch or STG operatives too with your work with the task force.”

Eleena nodded. “Yeah I’ve run into some special forces types with the task force.”

“So you have an idea of what they can do.” Lynora frowned as she thought back to some run ins her crew had had with the Blue Suns. “SIU was close to the batarian equivalent of N7s or Blackwatch. But they’re closer to the salarian STG in how they worked. SIU would try to outsmart you long before the firefight ever started. Not to say that humans or turians don’t try to do the same but the salarians are by far the best at it.” She scratched at her crest as she thought about what else she could say. “I’d assume that since the Hegemony never really had a lot of resources the SIU were taught to work smarter rather than harder to keep things as efficient as possible.”

The possibility of having fifteen former SIU operatives targeting Dholla Barcob was becoming more and more worrying to Eleena.

“Still just because they prefer to outsmart others by setting up traps and ambushes or working with various intermediaries doesn’t mean that they aren’t extremely dangerous themselves. I’ve seen a single former SIU member take down a whole Eclipse protection detail before.” Lynora gave Eleena a very serious look. “Lee, I know you can’t say exactly what you’re doing but be careful. SIU guys are serious.”

Eleena saw the worry behind Lynora’s expression and took her hand before giving her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be careful Lyn. I swear.”

Lynora nodded knowing that that was all she could ask for. She had hoped that after Eleena accepted the position of assistant director that field work for her to personally take part in would not be given to her anymore. Wanting them both to remain relatively safe was a part of the reason she had left Eclipse and started up her own security firm. But she would never ask Eleena to leave the task force, not when Eleena really did enjoy her work and especially not since she herself had spent almost a century as an Eclipse mercenary. Taking a breath Lynora decided to move on so she fixed Eleena with a smile that quickly turned predatory.

“Lyn…” Eleena saw the smile and tried to scoot to the opposite side of the couch but Lynora only followed. As Eleena ran out of room on the couch Lynora seemed to loom over her. “Lyn I have a meeting in the morning.”

“Mhmm.” Lynora took Eleena’s wrists and pinned them over her head. “You also owe me for breaking house rules.” Her smile only widened as she saw Eleena gulp beneath her.

-

The next morning Eleena groaned as she staggered to the bathroom. She turned on the lights to look at her reflection which only made her groan again. “Seriously? What the fuck Lyn?” Gingerly, she prodded the numerous bruises that Lynora had made all over her body.

Lynora only laughed from the bed. “You seemed to enjoy yourself if I recall correctly. You also had to pay up.”

“Uh huh.” Eleena went through her medicine cabinet and pulled out some medi-gel. “But did you really have to pull out the dampening cuffs and collar?”

“Yes I did.” Lynora came up behind Eleena and held out her hand to help with the medi-gel. “You always look so cute when you’re all helpless beneath me.”

Eleena sighed and shook her head. “This is what I get for dating an older maiden with a kinky side.” She then hissed as Lynora poked one of her bruises.”

“Don’t sass me. I’m not above tying you up in our living room and then calling up some old Eclipse friends to share you with.” Her lips curled up in a wicked grin as she felt Eleena stiffen and heard her breath catch.

Realizing too late that her involuntary response was a serious mistake, Eleena let out an exasperated sigh. “I hate you. And I hate how much that idea turns me on.”

Chuckling, Lynora continued to apply medi-gel to Eleena’s bruised body. “Former C-Sec officer and current member of an anti-terrorist task force bound and at the mercy of Eclipse commandos.” She smirked as she thought of all the things she could do to her girlfriend in that situation. “I could make good money selling vids of that.”

“I hate you so much.” Eleena closed her eyes and groaned as she imagined just how bruised and exhausted her body would be after that. “Just give me warning before you spring that on me. Ok?”

Lynora’s mind was already coming up with a list of former Eclipse members she trusted enough to call up. “And you say that I have a kinky side,” she teased.

* * *

 

-The Batarian Embassy

Eleena walked past a group of protestors before entering the embassy. She felt sorry about the whole situation with the protestors. There wasn’t any justification, in her mind, for the pirate and slaver raids that had claimed numerous lives in the Traverse. But just because batarians had been part of those raids did not mean that all of them were bloodthirsty raiders. Some of the first real friends she had ever made had been children of batarian refugees that were living down in the wards. They had just accepted her for who she was and didn’t judge or only want to know her because of who her parents were. Perhaps that made her predisposed to side with the batarians in arguments of politics but she simply saw it as not passing the sins of the father onto the son or in her current situation the sins of the Hegemony onto the Confederation.

She showed her credentials to security and was permitted to hold onto her weapons as she was granted entrance to the embassy. After telling the front desk about her meeting with the head of security she was escorted to a conference room and told that he would be with her shortly.

It was only a few minutes before two batarians entered the conference room. Eleena recognized them both as the ambassador and the head of security. The ambassador, Balem Camak, greeted her first. “Assistant Director T’soni. I understand that you are here to speak with our head of security.”

Eleena nodded at the ambassador. “Yes sir that is correct. I’m currently conducting an investigation on behalf of the task force and I believe that he may be able to help me or perhaps point me towards people that can.”

The ambassador had fixed her with his four eyes and tried to see if there were any physical tells to indicate that she might be lying to him. “Might I inquire as to the nature of your investigation, Assistant Director?”

“I’m afraid that given the sensitive nature of the investigation I cannot go into much detail at this time. All I can say is that it may have an impact on the security of the upcoming confirmation.” As she spoke Eleena let her eyes focus on the ambassador’s face as a whole rather than falling for the common mistake of trying to pick one set of eyes to focus on. Too many species were offput by the batarians’ four eyes and so wasted time and effort trying to pick one set to focus on all the while the batarian in question was usually able to examine and pick up on the facial cues of the person speaking to them.

Ambassador Camak seemed somewhat disappointed that Eleena gave nothing away in her response. After a moment more of watching her face he stepped to the side and introduced the other batarian that had come into the room with him. “This is our head of security, Commander Korem Dhelem.”

Commander Dhelem stepped forward and fixed Eleena with an unreadable expression.

Eleena just looked right back at the head of security before they both tilted their heads to the right, an extremely insulting gesture in batarian culture that indicated the person felt that they were superior to another.

The ambassador stiffened as both Eleena and his head of security made deliberate efforts to insult each other. He was about to step forward to avoid an incident when the Commander cracked first.

Korem’s face broke into a grin and he started laughing before punching Eleena in the shoulder. “It has been a while T’soni.”

Eleena broke almost the moment Korem did. She was also laughing and after being punched gave Korem a rude hand gesture. “Yeah it has been a while. Commander huh? I’d heard you were moving up in the galaxy but no one told me you had been promoted.”

“It was a recent promotion. Hadn’t gotten around to telling everyone.” Noticing that the ambassador was getting annoyed by the sudden turn of events, Korem turned to speak with him. “I understand that you still have your misgivings and suspicions regarding a classified task force investigation that may impact the confirmation. We both know that there are those who would rather the confirmation not happen. But I can assure you that Eleena T’soni is not one of those people and that if she is here then there is legitimate reason for it.”

Ambassador Camak was still not happy at learning his head of security and an assistant director of the task force knew each other. “Why did you not inform me that you both knew each other?”

Korem gave an indifferent shrug. “You have your own concerns and things to deal with and I have mine. The fact that I know her and have for years was not relevant to your own work. And before you ask, yes I have reported our friendship in my monthly security reviews.”

Eleena silently watched the back and forth. It seemed obvious that Korem and the ambassador often had personality clashes. But she could also see that they were professionals that were familiar with how far each other could be pushed. She thought it likely that despite their differences they probably worked very well together. A few more terse words were exchanged before the ambassador turned back to her and bid her a good day. He then told Korem to keep him informed of any “relevant” developments.

Once the ambassador left Korem smiled at Eleena. “Well now that he’s gone we can actually try and get something done.” He took a seat at the conference table and Eleena followed suit. “You did well meeting his stare, by the way. That usually gets people to give away tells.”

Korem’s words made Eleena smile. “Well I did have some help learning tricks like that. You and the others taught me a lot back when we were just wandering around the wards.” She shook her head in amusement at the memories of time spent getting into places they weren’t allowed to be. “Heard from Brenk or Dralla recently? I’ve been a bit preoccupied with work and haven’t checked in with them for a while.”

Korem chuckled as he also remembered their childhood antics. “I guess we did give you a bunch of tips about batarian culture. Not to say that you didn’t do the same with asari and humans.” He leaned back in his seat and thought for a moment. “I haven’t seen them in person for a few months, my work here also keeps me pretty busy, but we’ve kept up on the extranet.”

Eleena nodded sympathetically at Korem’s inability to see their old friends. She had to admit that her time with the task force had cut into the time that she’d prefer to be spending with Lynora. Of course after Lynora left Eclipse and started up her own security firm their time had been cut down even further. It was something that they were still learning to deal with and was a reason why they had house rules about not working when they were together.

While leaning back in his seat Korem continued to explain their friends’ situations. “Brenk still has his head in the stars. Remember how he’d always relate things back to space exploration?”

A grin spread across Eleena’s face. “Everything from politics to cultural customs could apparently be tied back to sentient species developing space flight and exploring the stars. It really was fun to say he was wrong and then watch him go off on us.”

An almost identical grin appeared on Korem’s face. “It took him a while to catch on to what we were doing. I should see if he still does that next time we speak. But last I heard he was out in the Traverse surveying new worlds for colonization as well as mapping any uncharted mass relays he comes across.”

“He always did want to go out and explore uncharted worlds.” Eleena smiled happily knowing that Brenk must be having the time of his life. “And the good doctor? How is she doing?”

Korem chuckled as he thought of Dralla and how they had all celebrated her doctorate by getting incredibly drunk. “She’s doing great. She’s actually going to be leaving for Rannoch soon. She’ll be collaborating with some quarians and the consensus on some dark energy project that I didn’t understand at all.”

Eleena laughed. “She always was the smartest one of us. Don’t see you or me going to school and becoming doctors anytime soon.” She thought about what Korem had said and was impressed with Dralla and whatever she was working on. It wasn’t everyday that an organic worked alongside the rebuilt geth consensus.

A few years after the war it was discovered that not all of the geth had been destroyed by the Crucible. Apparently there had been a sizable portion of geth systems that had disagreed with sacrificing their consensus for individuality and so had not accepted the reaper code. The rejection of the code was what had saved them as all those systems that had accepted it were destroyed. The schism and subsequent loss of all individualized systems had made the geth wary of further interactions with outsiders. But with the continued peace on Rannoch the rebuilt consensus had begun reaching out to organics that interested them. 

“Brenk maybe but definitely not you or me.” Korem exchanged a few more fond memories of getting into trouble as children with Eleena before they settled in to the business at hand. “We’ll have to get drinks later and try to get Brenk and Dralla to join us. But until then I’m guessing there’s something significant you’re working on.”

“Yeah we will. It’ll be great to catch up.” Eleena straightened up in her seat and looked around. “Is this room secure?”

Korem nodded. “It is. Don’t want others to listen in on high stakes negotiations between governments.”

“No you wouldn’t.” Eleena rested her arms on the table as she thought about how to go about asking her favor. “Yesterday I was given information that indicates there’s a very large Hegemony hold out somewhere out in Terminus space. Usually we’d just hand information like this over to another agency or military but the undercover agent that provided this information was found dead in a supposed shuttle accident while on their way to meet with the Executor and Director Caeldros.”

A frown had appeared on Korem’s face as he listened. “Suspicious timing to say the least, with the confirmation so close.”

“That’s what Caeldros and I thought.” Eleena was also frowning as she ran through all of the information that the undercover agent had provided.

“Do you have anything to go on to find them?” Korem was considering the dangers to the confirmation that a large Hegemony hold out could cause. He was concerned that both human and batarian intelligence had not detected this particular hold out before now. Over the last four decades almost all Hegemony remnants had been sought out and either brought back into what became the Confederation or destroyed. That this group somehow avoided detection was troubling.

Eleena sighed and shook her head. “I don’t have much to go on but I was hoping that you’d be able to help me out with that.”

Korem leaned forward his expression serious. “What do you need and what can I do to help?”

“I have a name. Karek Brathor. According to the limited records I had access to he was batarian SIU. Unfortunately that’s everything that I was able to get through the task force.” She gave Korem an apologetic smile. “I know that this isn’t going to be popular up your chain of command but I need access to whatever Hegemony military records are still around with a focus on the SIU.”

Grimacing, Korem rubbed at the bone between his right eyes. “SIU is pretty sensitive stuff, even now decades later.” He sighed and tried to think of what he could do. “So you’re hoping that he might be using old SIU resources in the Terminus that you could track?”

Eleena nodded in confirmation. “Hoping that there might have been old SIU stockpiles or bases that he and his followers might still be using. I was also hoping that I might be able to get names of people that Brathor served with. If they survived the war I might be able to ask them about Brathor and get a better idea of what he’s doing.”

“Makes sense. Wish it didn’t,” Korem muttered. He knew that Eleena was doing her job and that it likely would impact the security of the confirmation. He just did not know how his superiors would react to letting an asari have access to classified military information. While the Confederation was cooperating with the other species of the galaxy that did not mean that they did not still have secrets. “I’ll see what I can do about getting you access to the archives on Khar’shan. The task force carries a lot of weight in the galaxy which might help but it might also cause people to be suspicious of you. Hopefully my recommendation will also be worth something.”

Eleena let out a breath and gave Korem a grateful smile. “Thank you, Korem. I know this isn’t an easy ask and I’m sorry but I wouldn’t do it if I had another option.”

Korem returned Eleena’s smile and also waved away her apology. “I know. And I think that this definitely warrants you looking into it. So I’ll get you your access.” He shook his head and let out a dry laugh. “Not sure how I’m going to get this approved but you’ll have your access.”

Standing, Eleena offered Korem her hand which he took. “Eh I’m sure you’ll manage somehow.” A grin spread across her face. “You’ve talked us out of plenty of things before. Just need to switch it around and talk people into something this time.”

Laughing, Korem again punched Eleena in the shoulder. “Don’t start on that whole warehouse incident. It was your fault that we got caught in the first place.”

Eleena held up her hands in a sign of defeat as she also laughed and walked to the door. “We all got out of that fine. So I don’t know what you’re complaining about.”

“Goodbye T’soni.” Korem said with a chuckle before giving Eleena a final rude hand gesture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was talking with my partner about a mass effect rp that we made together and I started thinking about the post war galaxy. This story for my character Eleena T'soni then came to mind and I felt the need to try and write it out. Sadly I'm not a great writer but I've got some motivation so I'll try to actually turn the ideas in my head into words. Should anyone actually read this feel free to leave a comment or any feedback on my inability to do words properly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleena goes to the archives on Khar'shan and starts to learn more about the man she is trying to find.

-Khar’shan

Eleena sat in a secure waiting room of the Batarian Intelligence Service’s headquarters. She had received a call from Korem saying that he had managed to get her cleared to view the old Hegemony records of the SIU as well as any current Confederation records on batarian citizens that had previously served in the unit. He had also made it clear that when they next got together Eleena would be buying his drinks for the whole night. So she had made her way to Khar’shan and was now waiting to be escorted down into the archives.

It was not long before additional security personnel arrived and escorted her deeper into the building. She ended up at another room with numerous terminals all presumably with access to all of the archived information that she needed. After being given her seventh warning about the consequences of accessing information not related to her investigation she was left with an analyst to assist her and a security guard to watch over her.

Taking a seat next to the analyst Eleena began to search through the information regarding Karek Brathor. Most of his military records had been destroyed during the invasion of Khar’shan but the analyst was able to pull up a handful of after action reports regarding operations he had taken part in.

Going through the reports made Eleena think that what Lynora had told her about the SIU always trying to outthink their enemies seemed to be true. Brathor’s reports indicated that he did his best to anticipate the actions of his targets in order to try and outmaneuver them. Unfortunately any mission transcripts or other details on operations he had taken part in were lost.

Not finding anything that might indicate where Brathor was currently located Eleena moved on to information about SIU operatives that had served with him. Much like the records of the operations Brathor had taken part in the records of those he had served with were filled with gaps. She asked the analyst to check the few names that had come up against current Confederation records. Two SIU members that served with Brathor had returned to the Confederation after the war and were now in military and intelligence positions. Another two had apparently left to test their luck on Omega with one joining the Blue Suns and the other becoming a member of the Talons. It seemed that only one retired for civilian life. That SIU member had apparently found his family after the war and then left for the Traverse with them. The few other names were all listed as confirmed KIA during the war.

Eleena leaned back in her seat and thought. The two that were working for the Confederation she would likely be able to contact without too much trouble. It was also possible that she could get a face to face with the one that had joined the Talons. The one that had joined the Blue Suns likely wouldn’t ever talk to her unless she hired him and even then it was doubtful he would give her any reliable information. As for the one that had headed out into the Traverse his Confederation file indicated that he had worked briefly with an N7 fireteam during the war. She might be able to track down members of that fireteam or the ship they had been assigned to and see if he shared anything with them.

Curious about the man himself, Eleena tried to look at any non military related information about Karek Brathor. She had to work hard to keep from sighing as the records once again proved to be incomplete at best. Brathor’s civilian life was almost nonexistent. The analyst explained that most civilian records the Hegemony had kept were not as secure as military records and consequently had almost been entirely lost during the war. Still hopeful to find something Eleena expanded her search to any family that he might have.

Eventually Eleena did manage to find a certificate of birth for a daughter which also listed Brathor and his wife as the parents. Now with names Eleena quickly tried to find any records on Brathor’s family. After a few dead ends of missing information she found their pre war residence.

“Fuck.” Eleena had stopped everything as she stared at the words on the screen. “They lived on Aratoht. The Bahak system.” Her shoulders slumped and her stomach seemed to fall away as she thought of what had happened there.

Both the analyst and the security guard had gone quiet and were both staring at Eleena. They exchanged a look with each other before the guard spoke. “Your name is T’soni, right?”

Eleena felt herself stiffen at the question. Things always came back to this. Somehow things always came back to her parents, to Shepard and T’soni. “Yes,” she said bitterly. Her fingers began to type again. She didn’t want to deal with the blame for what her father had done in the past.

While growing up Eleena had been in awe of her parents. They had been heroes after all. It was not until she started going to school on Thessia that she had begun to resent them. The other students had at first seemed wonderful. They were accepting and almost eager to speak with her and to be her friends. However it didn’t take Eleena long to realize that all they really wanted was to hear about Liara T’soni and Claire Shepard. None of them really wanted to get to know her they just saw her as a someone that could share exciting stories about Commander Shepard and the war. Things became worse when she tried to focus on her own interests and began to refuse the constant requests to discuss her parents. Annoyed that she no longer provided fun stories the students had turned hostile. They had called her selfish for wanting to share things she cared about. Some said that they shouldn’t be surprised since she was the daughter of a pureblood and the granddaughter of a traitor. When her grades inevitably started to slip others claimed that she was not smart enough for the school and the only reason she was there was because of who her father and mother were.

Eleena’s left leg twitched slightly and the old burn scars there seemed to tingle. School with its constant taunts and complete lack of any friends had been a miserable and isolating place. She had gotten into numerous fist fights with other students as her biotics had started to deteriorate. She had despised everyone at her school and she had begun to hate her parents too. Nothing ever worked out. Either she failed at things and it was because she was incompetent, Liara was a pureblood and Benezia had been working with the reapers or she succeeded and it was because her parents had bribed the instructors. The prospect of a thousand years of never being good enough for anything or anyone had not been appealing.

The guard and analyst exchanged another look. They had noticed the bitterness in Eleena’s voice and her defensive body language as she started typing again. The guard paused for a moment before speaking to her again. “You are not responsible for the actions of your forebears. It would be unfair to judge you for things that they did before you were even born.”

The guard’s words made Eleena’s gut twist with guilt at her assumption that he would blame her for Shepard’s actions. She paused in her typing and looked over at him. “I appreciate that. I just wish more people shared your view.”

Turning back to the terminal, Eleena began pulling any remaining information on SIU strongholds out in Terminus space. As she went through the information Eleena felt a sense of gratitude for the guard’s words. It was almost always younger batarians that were willing to ignore her father’s actions and just accept her for who she was. Almost everyone else only saw her parents when they looked at her. She knew that many batarians still suffered discrimination from other species because of things the Hegemony had done. Eleena suspected that this made them more inclined to see her as her own person so long as she did the same with them.

-

In the end Eleena’s time at the archives, despite being full of dead ends and missing data, had been useful. She now had various leads to follow up on which was more than she had had before. She would have liked to call Caeldros to give him an update and ask if he had received any more information on his end but she didn’t exactly trust that the Confederation wouldn’t make a point of listening in on her call. Instead Eleena tried to make arrangements to meet face to face with the three former SIU members that worked for the Confederation. Unfortunately she had been informed that they were currently unavailable for an actual meeting so she had to settle for secure vidcalls.

They had been surprisingly helpful and willing to give her information that wasn’t in the archives. Eleena gathered that they were heavily invested in Dholla Barcob’s vision for the batarian’s future and wanted to make sure her confirmation occurred without incident. With their assistance she was able to identify a handful of SIU caches and three strongholds in Terminus Space that had not been recovered by the Confederation since the end of the reaper war.

With her business on Khar’shan completed Eleena made arrangements to go to Omega in the hopes of finding the SIU operator that had become a member of the Talons.

-Somewhere in Terminus Space

“She went to Khar’shan. The BIS gave her access to the archives. We don’t know what she might have found but she also spoke with Admiral Ben’Saral and BIS deputy director Roccah.”

Karek’s fist clenched. They were too close. He and his followers had worked far too long and hard to be thwarted by this asari whore’s investigation. “Ben’Saral and Roccah were good operators once but they then closed their eyes on the Hegemony and joined Barcob and her human allies.” He shook his head and slowly unclenched his fist. “What matters is what they may have told T’soni. They were aware of numerous locations in the Terminus that we had secured as staging points for operations. They may now be compromised.”

Branya continued to stand at ease as Karek spoke but she felt her own anger just simmering beneath the surface. She would not allow the plans that she and Karek had put together to fall apart now especially not because of this spawn of Shepard’s. Something would have to be done about T’soni.

“Where is T’soni now?” Karek was thinking about his options. Killing an assistant director of the task force would not be easy. If it was done in the wrong way then the task force might devote all of its resources to continuing her investigation.

“According to your contact she secured transport on a ship bound for Omega.” Branya felt herself smile slightly as she shared T’soni’s destination.

“Omega.” Karek could have sighed in relief. Despite Aria T’loak opening up Eezo trade with the ‘civilized’ parts of the galaxy Omega was still the ideal place for an accident to happen. “This can work to our advantage. We just need to make it look as if those responsible had previous grievances against T’soni.”

Branya nodded. “I’ll make the arrangements.”

* * *

 

-Omega

When Eleena got off of the transport she took a moment to admire the Omega skyline. It wasn’t exactly unique but she had always admired the way UV light from the system’s sun filtered into the station. She vaguely wondered what other species saw when they looked out on Omega.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed a batarian and turian approaching her. She sighed as she recognized them as one of Aria’s greeting parties. “Let me guess,” she said once they were closer. “Aria wants to see me?”

The turian nodded and jerked his head behind him. “Afterlife. Now.”

“Right.” Eleena slowly made her way towards Afterlife but not before stopping at a food stand and taking the time to enjoy a bowl of noodles. It may have been petty but she had never liked being forced onto someone else’s time frame. So she enjoyed her noodles and casually spoke with the cook before finally going to Afterlife.

Walking through Afterlife reminded Eleena how much she hated clubs. The noise was loud enough that she couldn’t reasonably rely on her hearing, some patrons gave her lecherous looks and the whole place was hot with all the bodies in it. Hoping to get some brief relief she made her way up to Aria’s platform where she was glad the environmental controls kept it slightly cooler and the sound dampeners made it easier to hear.

Seeing that no one was currently speaking with Aria, Eleena took a seat on the couch. “Aria. I hear you wanted to see me.”

“T’soni.” Aria acknowledged her but finished going over a datapad and then giving orders to one of her guards before looking at her. “It isn’t everyday that an assistant director of the task force graces us with their presence.”

Eleena shrugged nonchalantly. “What can I say? I get around.”

“Indeed.” Aria lifted a glass of Noverian rum and sipped at it while waiting for Eleena to explain.

“Not enough huh?” Eleena leaned back on the couch and scratched idly at her crest. “Well as you correctly assumed I’m here as an assistant director so it’s business and not pleasure. Looking to find a former SIU member here on the station.”

“To kill him?” Aria asked from behind her glass of rum.

“To talk to him.” Eleena waited as Aria played with her drink. It wasn’t as if she’d stop her investigation if Aria didn’t help but things would certainly go much easier if she did cooperate.

Aria finished her drink and took her time examining the bottle of rum before speaking. “What’s their name?”

“Kharn Dos’sah. I hear he’s working with the Talons.” Eleena spoke in a casual way careful to not show that she was aware Aria was making her wait on purpose.

“Hm.” Aria poured herself another glass of rum and took the time to savour its taste. “Head to the Doru district. You’ll find him at the water treatment facilities.” She carefully set her glass down and actually looked over at Eleena. “Try not to make a mess of things. Water is rather important to keep the station from falling apart.”

Nodding, Eleena stood up. “I’ll do my best.” She paused while walking away and looked over her shoulder. “Oh and say hi to your bondmate for me. That stew she made on Janiris was great.”

Aria didn’t even bother looking up as she admired a dancer. “Say hello yourself. You’ll probably see her again before I do, working on the bureaucratic hellhole of a station.”

Eleena chuckled as she went on her way. “If someone like you meets their bondmate there then it really must be a hellhole.”

-Doru district

As she approached the water treatment facility in the Doru district Eleena began to see signs of conflict. Flashes of biotics as well as weapons fire seemed to be coming from outside of the facility, near a cargo transport. Carefully circling from a safe distance above the fight she saw that Aria’s people and the Talons were fighting with some Blue Suns mercenaries.

Not having any effective means of fighting from her position she took note of the Blue Suns’ numbers and positions before landing her skycar a little ways away from the fight. Carefully she made her way towards the Blue Suns while making sure to keep track of their positions. When she found adequate cover she glanced over at the Talons and Aria’s people where she noticed an asari with heavily customized armor, a purple complexion and white markings. Eleena shook her head in annoyance as she realized Aria had sent her here to serve as backup in order to help finish this fight.

Eleena’s omni-tool glowed as it quickly scanned the active frequencies in her immediate area. She finally managed to get into the frequency being used by Aria’s people and the Talons. The next time the asari took cover Eleena started to speak. “Hey Nyna, it’s me. Looks like your dad tricked me into coming here as your backup.”

“Eleena? Where are you?” Nyna Tevos asked as she fired her weapon at the Blue Suns and shouted orders to those with her.

“Well I’m about thirty meters away from the Suns’ at your ten o’clock.” Eleena checked the thermal clip on her weapon before glancing out at the Blue Suns again. “You still have eleven active shooters. Standard shields, assault rifles, one sharpshooter with a customized rifle.”

“Anymore engineers?” Nyna asked while ducking as the Blue Suns sharpshooter forced her back into cover. “And we need that fucking sniper dead.”

Eleena carefully looked out from her cover. “No. I’m not seeing any tech specialists.” She flexed her fingers and her hand glowed faintly with dark energy. “I can take out the sharpshooter that’s keeping you all pinned. Just move fast once they start shooting at me.”

Nyna and those with her continued to lay down fire from their position. “Whenever you’re ready T’soni!” She shouted as the sharpshooter once again kept her and the others with her from advancing.

Carefully Eleena leaned out from cover. She focused on the two mercenaries closest to her whose shields had gone down. Taking a steadying breath she clenched her fist. The moment her fist closed the two unshielded mercs collapsed as tiny biotic bubbles formed and then burst in their brains. Before the others realized what had happened she had taken aim and squeezed off two shots with her pistol. The first took down what was left of the sharpshooter’s shields and the second went right through their helmet and head. She then fired off the rest of her thermal clip to draw attention to herself.

The Blue Suns that had been closest to the sharpshooter noticed their comrade go down and quickly pivoted to return fire at Eleena. The others noticed as Eleena emptied her thermal clip at them and were momentarily distracted by the new shooter.

The momentary distraction and death of the sharpshooter was all Nyna and the others needed to push forward. To their credit the eight remaining Blue Suns didn’t break ranks but with their sharpshooter gone they were quickly overrun.

As the Blue Suns were overwhelmed Eleena noticed a batarian in Talon colors that she suspected was the former SIU operative she was looking for. When he and the others advanced Eleena saw him kill two of the Suns himself and then subdue another with a powerful overload. She assumed they wanted to take at least one of the Blue Suns in for questioning.

Hearing the all clear being called out Eleena stepped out from her position and walked over to the cargo transport. As she walked over she concluded that while this wasn’t the worst greeting she had ever had on Omega she had still had better.

Nyna T’loak, as she prefered to be called on Omega, was giving orders regarding the transport and the Blue Suns prisoner when she finally saw Eleena. Upon seeing the jacket that Eleena wore she shook her head in amusement. “Still wearing that thing huh? Trying to look all top when we both know you’re the farthest thing from it.”

Eleena rolled her eyes and picked up a thermal clip from one of the Blue Suns bodies so she once again had her usual number of spares. “Business not pleasure this visit Nyna. And why does everyone have to criticize my jacket?”

Nyna pouted slightly as Eleena said she was on Omega for business but didn’t really press the matter. “Oh well. Your loss. And I at least criticize your jacket because I know you’d look much better in a dancer’s outfit.”

“You’re relentless,” Eleena said with a sigh.

“That’s not a ‘no Nyna I won’t put on a dancer’s outfit for you’ though is it?” Nyna smirked as she teased her friend and occasional lover. “You know I could always call up Lynora and get her on board with this idea. I’m sure she’d appreciate you putting on a show for us.”

Eleena let out a groan and also remembered Lynora’s plan to invite over some friends to share her with. She silently hoped Lynora wouldn’t think to call Nyna too as she doubted her body could handle the both of them let alone the additional Eclipse sisters that would be present. “Look I promise nothing. Just don’t go calling Lyn with ideas like that.”

“Worried that she’d side with me T’soni?” Nyna asked as she continued to smirk at Eleena. She had always enjoyed Eleena’s company, being able to tie her down had just been icing on the cake as humans would say. The sex aside what Nyna valued most about Eleena was her understanding of what it was like to have parents that were such visible figures in the galaxy. It was nice to be able to confide in someone that understood the frustrations and difficulties of being the child of incredibly powerful and prominent people.

“Worried that you two would start coordinating. I don’t think my body could handle that.” Eleena said dryly.

Nyna shrugged and leaned in to give Eleena a quick kiss. “You’re a tough sub. I’m sure you’d survive. You’d probably be bruised and maybe feel like you’d just fought a krogan but you’d survive.”

“I hate you.” Eleena chuckled and clapped Nyna’s shoulder. “I still don’t really want you two coordinating but we’ll see what happens.” She glanced over to the Talons who were unloading mechanical equipment for the water treatment facility. “Now while I’d love to spend time helping you relieve some stress I do have some business I need to get to.” She smiled at Nyna and started towards the batarian but was stopped when Nyna took hold of her jacket.

“Uh-uh.” Nyna pulled Eleena back. She wasn’t like Aria with the need to try and always end things on her own terms but with Eleena here now Nyna couldn’t resist getting even a small concession from her. “Rules T’soni. That’s not how you say goodbye.”

Eleena shook her head. “Seriously?” She didn’t actually have anything against what Nyna wanted but the smug look on her face made Eleena want to put up some resistance. “You know you can just ask for a kiss right?”

Nyna smiled and her grip on Eleena’s jacket tightened. “You know perfectly well it isn’t just about the kiss.” Continuing to smile Nyna just stood there perfectly willing to hold Eleena until she gave in. “Well T’soni? Going to follow my rules and give me that little bit of control over you?”

“I really hate you,” Eleena grumbled.

The rules that they had made were years old and were initially made to make it easier to fall into a familiar framework when they both needed to find some small reprieve from the galaxy and their parents. Now that time had passed those old rules were mainly brought up by Nyna to goad Eleena into doing small acts of submission.

Eleena didn’t stop grumbling but she did clasp her hands behind her back leaving herself open to Nyna.”Fine.”

Satisfied with Eleena’s action, Nyna released her jacket and kissed her. “Good girl. Glad Lynora still exercises that submissive streak of yours.”

Sighing, Eleena cursed her inability to resist Nyna even though neither of them had any romantic interest in one another. Lynora herself had even teased her for being so quick to bend to both herself and Nyna. “You’re terrible.”

Nyna winked. “And that’s just how you like me.” She gave Eleena a two fingered salute before accompanying some of the cargo for the water treatment facility. “Later T’soni. Best of luck with your business.”

“Appreciate that.” With Nyna once again taking charge of her people Eleena approached the batarian she had seen earlier.

The batarian saw Eleena approach and couldn’t help but chuckle. “So if Aria is the queen of omega does that make you the princess’s consort?”

Eleena closed her eyes and tried not to sigh in exasperation. A batarian with a sense of humor. It wasn’t as if she had never run into one before, most of her friends were very funny, but the older generations seemed to still have a permanent run down feeling to them. She had never asked but assumed that living under the Hegemony had not always allowed humor, at least as the rest of the galaxy understood it, to flourish. “Guess technically I would be yeah. Though I see it more as a friends that have sex sort of situation.”

“Well so long as you both know what you want.” He smiled and offered Eleena his hand. “Kharn Dos’sah former Special Intervention Unit. But I suspect you already know that.”

“Guilty on that front.” Eleena returned his smile and shook his hand. “Also know why I was looking for you?”

“Word is that you’re looking at former SIU members for an investigation of some sort. What’s interesting though is that it doesn’t seem to be an all out official investigation but something that’s being done quietly.”

Eleena inclined her head slightly. “You’re well informed. Guessing you either still have contacts on Khar’shan or you got a call from the admiral or the deputy director.”

Kharn nodded in approval. “And you’d be correct in your guessing but I’m not going to tell you which is right,” he said with a grin.

“Of course not,” Eleena said while rolling her eyes. “Well then mind if I ask if you’ve heard anything from Karek Brathor since the end of the war?”

Kharn’s eyes grew sad and he looked away from Eleena. “Karek was a good man and a fantastic operator. But after what happened…” He shook his head before looking back at Eleena. “Heard you went to the archives. Did you find out what happened to his family?”

Despite knowing that it wasn’t her fault Eleena still felt guilty about what had happened to Karek Brathor’s family. She nodded to Kharn. “Yeah. I know what happened. They died along with everyone else in the Bahak system.”

“He didn’t believe it at first. That the whole system had been destroyed I mean.” Kharn thought back to when the first reports had come in. It had been absurd to think that an entire system had been wiped out. He remembered the chaos of it all as everyone was trying to figure out how it had happened and who had done it. “I also didn’t believe it at first. But eventually we knew it was true. He was devastated. Hegemony kept close tabs on all its’ citizens so we knew immediately that his family had still been on Aratoht.”

“I can’t imagine what that must have been like.” Eleena had dealt with crisis situations before but nothing on the scale of what had happened at Bahak.

“It was chaos. But eventually we learned about your father. We didn’t know what exactly she had done or why as she wasn’t technically part of the Systems Alliance at the time but she was still a spectre and also supposedly working with Cerberus. There were a lot of theories about why she did it but none of them ended up being right.” Kharn laughed dryly. “I don’t think anyone would have guessed that an army of sentient machines that wait in dark space for 50,000 years at a time were about to invade the galaxy through the Bahak system.”

Eleena had long since admitted that the very idea of the reapers did sound ridiculous. She doubted very much that anyone would have accepted that explanation for the Bahak system especially back when humans and batarians were at each other’s throats. “No. I don’t think that anyone would’ve guessed that was why she did it.”

“I know that no one in the Hegemony made that guess.” Kharn shook his head. “Karek was put in charge of our retaliation. The plan was to capture your father before she was transported back to earth so we could make an example of her. But we missed the window to grab her. So instead we planned to try what Ka’hairal Balak tried at Terra Nova and drop an asteroid on another human colony.”

“Guessing time ran out before that could happen.” Eleena said as she quickly went over the time needed to prepare an asteroid for use as a WMD and the time from the destruction of the alpha relay and the reapers’ invasion.

Kharn laughed humorlessly. “You’re good at this guessing thing.” His face grew dark as he remembered the complete slaughter that happened when the indoctrinated agents had turned on the Hegemony. “The reapers poured into our systems and any plans to get back at the Alliance were tossed aside in the hopes of just surviving for another hour.” He let out a tired sigh. It had been some time since he last thought about the war. The memories were not pleasant. “So Karek never got the chance to strike back at humanity. Sure you could say that it was ultimately the reapers’ fault for the loss of his family but that didn’t really matter to him. He wanted what he saw as justice so when the Alliance and the remaining pockets of surviving batarians started working together on the recovery program he wasn’t happy.”

“I can see how suddenly working with humanity to rebuild batarian worlds wouldn’t go over well with him. Could see it not feeling right to a lot of people.”

“You’re right about it not feeling right. I’ll admit that it felt wrong to me too.” Kharn’s eyes unfocused slightly as he remembered the time after the war. Batarian space had been in ruins and they didn’t have any resources to even try to rebuild. He remembered seeing a small child wandering aimlessly through the rubble while searching for food. Things had seemed completely hopeless and then when word came that some sort of deal had been made with the Alliance he had felt even worse. He had been sure that the humans were coming to finish them off. But he had been wrong. While things had been tense the humans that had come to Khar’shan had been kind if worn down themselves. At one point he even saw the same batarian child, now properly fed, teaching some humans how to play an old batarian game that involved two teams running around a set course while trying to keep a ball in the air. The child had been laughing and obviously enjoyed playing with the humans. Seeing that interaction had made Kharn start to feel some measure of hope for the future.

Eleena saw that Kharn seemed to be remembering what post war life had been like. She gave him time to think. From what she had learned of history there had been peace but there had also been the devastation the reapers had caused that everyone had to suddenly deal with.

Realizing that he had gone silent for a bit too long Kharn let out a small laugh. “Look at me. Getting all lost in my memories. Wonder if that means I’m getting old.”

A small smile appeared on Eleena’s face. “It’s possible. You did manage to get pinned down by Blue Suns of all people so you might be losing it.”

Kharn let out a genuine laugh. “That hurts miss consort.”

“I do what I can,” Eleena said, amused.

“Well keep it up. Can always use some more humor in the galaxy But enough of my feeling bad about times past. Everything I said was to show you what Karek, myself and others were dealing with ever since Bahak. We were in serious trouble as a species but humanity did us a great service and helped to rebuild us. Now you’ll remember that I said I and others had lost a great deal of hope once Barcob accepted the BRP from the Alliance.” Kharn smiled as Eleena nodded at him. “Well Karek was one of those that really lost all hope when that happened. He urged against it and tried to get the remaining batarians to fight against the humans on our planets. But after a galaxy spanning war that decimated our people no one really wanted to fight anymore. He saw Barcob’s acceptance of the Alliance’s help as treason against the Hegemony.”

Eleena frowned. “Wasn’t the Hegemony broken by the end of the war?”

“It was.” Kharn sighed and tried not to think of all the failed attempts to get Karek to back down and accept the way things were. “But what you have to understand is that a lifetime of propaganda is hard to overcome. And being SIU we were much better off than the average citizen of the Hegemony. So Karek never had any reason to not support the Hegemony as it had been good for him and his family.”

Watching and listening to Kharn carefully Eleena thought she detected a trace of regret in his voice. “Did you two fight over the direction the batarians were heading in?”

Kharn’s eyes closed and he nodded. “Karek had laid out the groundwork for a coup. He wanted to kill Barcob and her supporters as well as the humans that were assisting in the rebuilding efforts.” He felt his fist clench as he remembered the night Karek came to him with the plan. “I protested and he pointed out that we had captured and imprisoned many like Barcob in the past in order to protect the integrity of the Hegemony. And we had imprisoned many political dissidents but this was different. The Hegemony was dead and the Confederation was growing in popularity among the people.”

The regret in Kharn’s voice changed as he spoke and turned into sadness. Eleena wondered how she would handle a friend and herself having such polar opposite views like Kharn and Karek had had about the future of their species. She reasoned that she’d first have to care enough about her species to have such strong opinions. “So what happened?”

“Nothing good,” Kharn said with a shake of his head. “I turned him in or I tried to. I informed those security forces I knew were loyal to Barcob and her followers. Together we tried to raid Karek’s compound.” He scratched at a scar on his face and recalled how shrapnel had nearly lost him two eyes that night. Unfortunately many others had not been nearly as lucky a he had been. “I’ll spare you the details but in the end he managed to escape with a number of supporters and a fair amount of resources.”

“I’m sorry it came to that Kharn.” Eleena silently recalled her notes and the information that she had already gathered on Karek. “So after his escape would be when it was made an even greater priority to recover old SIU caches and strongholds?”

Kharn nodded. “Tried to make sure he wouldn’t have places to hide and resupply but the Terminus is a big place and I think that with mass relays we underestimate the sheer size and scope of a galaxy.”

Eleena had to agree with his thoughts on the size of the galaxy. Too often people felt that all the species currently living in unity were the masters of the galaxy without noting that combined only a miniscule portion of the galaxy had actually been explored. “When I spoke with Ben’saral and Roccah they said that there were still three strongholds and several caches that for whatever reason were unaccounted for.” She pulled up the list on her omni-tool and showed it to Kharn. “Know any other details on these places?”

Taking a moment Kharn went through the list that Eleena showed him. He almost laughed as he went through it. Ben’saral and Roccah had been good but they had been more interested in climbing up in the the Hegemony rather than taking part in everything that SIU did. “Several of these caches are gone. I raided some of them myself when I left batarian space.” He pointed out which ones he knew had been emptied. “Also this stronghold was abandoned when we learned that some local wildlife had managed to tunnel into the structure. Can’t say much about the other two though.” Looking up at Eleena he couldn’t help but smile. “What the old records and the people you already spoke to wouldn’t have been able to tell you was that we had set up a number of off books facilities to help with operations out in the Terminus or the Traverse. We found a nice little uncharted system after we activated and explored the path of a dormant mass relay. Set up a number of facilities there. Had a helium-3 fueling station around a gas giant as well as a space station that could support an entire fleet’s worth of people. It was all pretty impressive back when I was there.”

“Can you give me the coordinates of this system as well as the mass relay to access it?” Eleena needed to find a secure line back to Caeldros. An uncharted system and an undocumented mass relay was not something that she could handle on her own.

“Sure thing.” Kharn went through his own omni-tool and sent over some data to Eleena. He included some quick notes about what he remembered of the station back when he and SIU had used it.

Eleena nodded and scanned through the information that Kharn had given her. “Thank you. I’m hoping that this will help me but even if it doesn’t it’s good to know about.” She offered her arm in a typical batarian gesture that was somewhat similar to the human handshake.

Smiling, Kharn grasped her arm and completed the gesture. “Hey, consort,” he called as Eleena started to walk away.

Turning around Eleena gave Kharn a slightly exasperated look. “Yeah?”

His face was screwed up as if he was in pain before it set in a look of determination. “Be careful. Karek is dangerous. So if you find him don’t hesitate. Just kill him.” Kharn sighed. “He was a good man but things just didn’t go his way. And if he’s out there then he’s been sitting with his anger for years. Which means he’d cause more harm than good to the future of my species.”

Eleena nodded and found herself wondering just what it was that had caused Kharn to leave batarian space. He obviously cared very much for the batarians so why leave for Omega? Perhaps he felt that there was no place for him in the new future for his species? Or maybe it was just too painful, especially after turning on his friend? She wanted to ask but also didn’t want to open up any more old wounds than she already had. So instead of asking she nodded. “If you’re sure then I’ll do that. Thank you for all your help Kharn.”

Nodding, Kharn turned and headed into the water treatment facility with the other Talons and Aria’s people. “And I’m sure she realized the obvious that if someone out of touch like me heard about her visit to Khar’shan then Karek almost certainly has too,” He muttered darkly to himself. Looking back he watched Eleena return to her skycar. “Be careful consort. There’s no telling what Karek might do to stop your investigation.”

-

“I’ve got eyes on T’soni. Doesn’t look like she’s heading for the docks.”

“Good. Follow her but make sure she doesn’t see you. We need to know where she’s going so we can set up.”

“Got it. I’ll let you know where she goes.”

“Good.” An asari in yellow Eclipse armor ended her call and turned to a human who was also in yellow armor. “Make sure everyone is geared up. We need to be ready to head out once we know where she’s heading. Time to pay back that bitch for the Ariake job.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So weird actually being motivated to write even if it's just for me.


	3. Chapter 3

-Omega

Eleena had taken standard civilian transportation to get to Omega as she didn’t want to advertise her relation to the task force. Now with the need to contact Caeldros again she needed to find a ship that was actually reliable in getting her back to the Citadel. Unfortunately no ships were currently heading back into the serpent nebula and she didn’t trust any captain that could be bribed to not give her up. So she headed into the Kima district to wait until the next day and a shuttle that would have an official flight plan to the ‘civilized’ parts of the galaxy.

Her destination in the Kima district was a three story building that she knew Aria had taken control of after the Cerberus occupation of Omega. Apparently her ‘uncle’ Garrus also knew of the building and its strategic merits though he had not explained just how he knew this. But why Garrus knew that was not important as she only intended to stay the night before catching a ride off of the station.

After making sure that the safehouse was empty Eleena started to get settled in. As she looked around it was obvious that Aria’s people used it. There were weapons, equipment and tools all over as well as a fair amount of contraband. “Good thing we’re family friends T’loak otherwise I’d see about taking all of this,” Eleena said to herself.

Settling in Eleena went to a workbench and started to tinker with a visor that, coincidentally, Garrus had given her as a gift. She had been fond of the benefits that it gave her but some friends of hers had given suggestions on how to improve it further. Unfortunately those suggested upgrades were proving to be difficult to integrate into this particular visor. But her friends insisted that she had nearly finished so she continued her work.

After working on the visor for some time Eleena shifted focus and cleaned her weapon before searching the building for a refrigeration unit and some food. She found one and opened it only to close it again and sigh. “Well I don’t know what I was expecting with this being Omega.” Leaving the unit alone she wondered just how many other bodies Aria and her people had just laying around. Concluding that there was nothing to eat in the building she gathered her things and headed to the Tuhi district to find something to eat there.

-

“She’s in the Tuhi district. Seems to be taking her time looking at the goods and food.”

“Good. We’re about five minutes out. Keep an eye on her. We don’t want her to get up and leave before we get there.”

-

Eleena walked around the commercial district for a while and just looked at all the various shops. Many of them would immediately be shut down for selling illegal wares back on the Citadel but since this was Omega any regulations were less stringent if nonexistent. Deciding against purchasing some highly illegal yet intriguing pistol mods and parts Eleena walked off to a human run diner she was familiar with.

Taking a seat Eleena ordered a sandwich that her father had introduced her to called a reuben. Growing up she had developed a fondness for various human foods with steak and grilled sandwiches being particular favorites. Her ‘uncle’ Kaidan had only been too happy to indulge her love of steak and would cook them whenever she visited him.

While sipping from a cup of eezo enriched tea Eleena looked out the window and watched as people passed by. During her time training with Samara they had occasionally played a game where they’d watch someone and try to come up with a story for them. It had all seemed fun at the time but she later realized that it was a way of observing details and making inferences based on those details. Samara had also made sure that Eleena understood that while a useful skill to have it was not foolproof and nothing should ever be assumed without verification especially with matters of law enforcement.

Eleena had just smiled and thanked her waiter for bringing her sandwich when she noticed something that made her look out the window again. There was someone in an oversized jacket on the other side of the street. While the oversized jacket didn’t really mean anything, lots of people on Omega had them to conceal one thing or another, it was the person’s actions or lack of them that made Eleena take notice. A vorcha and a human had started arguing and all those around them either shifted out of the way or moved closer to see the fight. But the person in the large jacket didn’t move and instead seemed to be watching the diner Eleena was in.

Taking a look around the diner Eleena didn’t see anyone else that seemed to be high profile enough to warrant someone watching them. The quick look around also reminded her that there were only two exits the one in the front and one for the staff out the back. She glanced out the window again and saw the person watching the diner move away from the fight that had broken out. As they moved Eleena noticed a brief flash of yellow armor from beneath the jacket. Eclipse.

Eleena silently cursed and her eyes began scanning the street, buildings and stalls to try and find other Eclipse members. She spotted two more and saw that they, along with the first, had fields of fire that all overlapped on the front entrance of the diner. Her jaw clenched and her hand rested on her pistol. She knew that if it was a typical Eclipse crew there must be at least seven maybe nine others she couldn’t see, probably surrounding the diner. And while she was confident in her skills and abilities, ten to twelve against one weren’t odds she’d bet on.

A small crease formed between Eleena’s eyes as she tried to visualize the area around the diner. Everything in this portion of the district were either single story buildings or stalls and stands of some sort so she didn’t need to worry about anyone with a good vantage point on her. Unfortunately three sides of the diner only led to other buildings and walls that would easily provide cover for the Eclipse. But if she could get over to the fourth side of the diner she might be able to lose her pursuers in all of the stalls that were set up there. However even if she got out that way she would be surprised if she didn’t run into a few Eclipse among the stalls to try and keep her from escaping that way.

Looking at the wall that bordered the markets she saw that it was nothing but a solid wall without any windows. Going through her pockets she pulled out a credit chit and left it on the table. She then walked closer to the wall that would lead to her potential escape route and grimaced as her nerves began to rise. Eleena looked out the front windows of the diner again and saw that the three Eclipse mercenaries were still there. Going out the front of the diner would be suicide. Her gaze returned to the wall in front of her. She knew that what she was about to do was incredibly stupid and doing it repeatedly might even lead to complications should she ever want to have children but she saw no other way out that wouldn’t immediately get her shot full of holes.

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. Her body glowed but before anyone around her could say anything she had let her biotics take her through the wall of the diner and out among all the market stalls. Her body ached as she reappeared outside the diner. She had not expected to feel so drained and would have prefered to take a seat and maybe had a few drinks to deal with the pain. Unfortunately she didn’t have time do anything as two Eclipse mercenaries were quickly advancing on her through the crowds. She let out a curse and ran.

Shouts of angry patrons and shop keepers followed her as Eleena sprinted through the market. She heard more shouting behind her as the Eclipse mercenaries shoved their own way through the crowds of people. Her pistol was in her hands and her eyes were searching for anything that could serve as cover. But being in the market area meant there weren’t many places that would provide any protection from the Eclipse if they started firing and any skycars she might have been able to steal were in the other direction.

Soon enough Eleena heard gunfire and saw the impact of the shots all around her. She made sure that her barrier was up and quickly glanced back at the pursuing mercenaries. Some had gotten bogged down by angry citizens who had pulled their own weapons in response to having their businesses interrupted. Despite some being held up Eleena saw that five of the Eclipse were gaining ground on her by shooting and using biotics on the people in their way. Eleena thought that she recognized an asari among them but couldn’t be sure as she was forced to keep moving in order to avoid incoming fire.

Eleena felt her body starting to scream at her as it was forced to keep running after going through the diner wall. Her face was screwed up in pain as she forced herself to keep going. She could feel the occasional shot hitting her barrier and wanted desperately to return fire but couldn’t with so many civilians around. She felt a wave of relief when she spotted a set of stairs that led to a level beneath the market. Turning once she had cover in the staircase Eleena waited and then opened fire, killing two of the five Eclipse that were still after her. The other three held back slightly as Eleena quickly made her way down the stairs.

The level beneath the market was less crowded as it was a peak time for trade but there was plenty of cover in the form of various shipping containers and support columns. Eleena tried to slow her breathing as she knelt behind some crates. While evening out her breathes she also swapped out her thermal clip for a fresh one and pulled a knife from beneath her jacket. With her breathing now evened out again Eleena peered out from her position and could see the three Eclipse cautiously leaving the stairs and moving to cover. The asari she had seen earlier seemed to be in command and gave hand signals to the other two.

The asari had the two others go one way while she went the other. Eleena followed their movements as they searched for her and noted that if the two humans continued on their current course they would soon be among the shipping containers. She holstered her pistol but kept the knife in her hand and when the humans began searching the containers she silently worked her way behind them.

Now behind the mercenaries Eleena crept up close to one of them. She adjusted her grip on the knife before slipping it between the human’s armor plates and covering his mouth to keep him from shouting out. Quickly laying his body down Eleena silently warped his weapon and came up behind the second human. She again slipped her blade between the mercenary’s armor and kept them silent so as not to alert the asari. Wiping her knife free of blood Eleena put it back in its’ scabbard and looked around. No one had seen or heard anything and the general smell of so many people and goods in the district meant the bodies wouldn’t be noticed for some time.

Going through the second human’s things, Eleena picked up their rifle and looked it over before putting a fresh thermal clip into it. She found nothing else on her initial pat down and since the asari was still around somewhere Eleena left the body alone for the time being. Moving through the shipping containers she once again peered out to try and get a glimpse of where the asari had gone. Unfortunately Eleena couldn’t see the final mercenary anywhere.

Carefully, Eleena moved out from the shipping crates and behind a support column. She still couldn’t see the asari. Recalling the path that she had last seen the asari on she made her way in a similar direction. With it being Omega the few residents that were around didn’t react to her carrying a rifle and merely went about their business. The people not caring about weapons, so long as they were not aimed at them, unfortunately made it difficult to use them as a gage of where the asari might have gone.

Moving to another column Eleena thought that she saw something move atop a large shipping container ahead of her. But when she focused her attention at the container she saw nothing. Frowning she moved on. She had made her way around other containers, not wanting to move between them and risk being snuck up on, when she once again thought she saw movement. When she turned in the direction of the movement she was again met with nothing. Her frown deepened and she vaguely wondered if biotically phasing through the wall had somehow temporarily impaired her sight. She moved on but could not shake the feeling that someone was watching her.

Eleena had still not found any sign of the asari when her barrier was struck and taken down by a powerful warp. She then dove for cover and just managed to avoid getting shot. Her heart was pounding like a drum and she was amazed that the asari could not hear it. She tried to bring her barrier back up but the lingering effects of the asari’s warp and her own lack of eating anything since before the firefight outside the water treatment facility was making keeping up a proper barrier impossible.

“Damn it,” Eleena muttered to herself before deciding to move among some shipping containers. She hoped that the close quarters nature of the area would allow her to get in close quickly and limit the danger of her lack of a barrier. Being in such a confined space Eleena collapsed the rifle she had and instead pulled out her pistol. She took care to move cautiously to try and keep from being taken from behind as she had done with the two human mercenaries.

Trying to ignore her rising nerves Eleena kept moving. The sudden quiet gave her mind a moment to wonder how the Eclipse had found and targeted her. Despite what Lynora or Nyna might say her jacket was not very distinctive and she herself was also a fairly plain looking asari. It was possible that, being an assistant director of the task force, they just kept tabs on her but she had her doubts. Eclipse were mercenaries that specialized in combat and physical security not surveillance. She suspected that somehow her location must have been given to them. What mattered then was who had tipped off the Eclipse.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt the barrel of a gun pressed into her back. Eleena closed her eyes and wanted to kick herself for letting this happen.

“Well, well. Been a while hasn’t it officer? Or should I call you assistant director now?” The asari mercenary uncloaked and took Eleena’s pistol and rifle away.

Eleena shrugged but made sure not to move much while being held at gunpoint. The fact that the asari was talking to her made her think that this was not actually a hit. “It is assistant director but being this close we really don’t need to be so formal.”

“Funny.” Shoving Eleena in the back the asari got them both moving. She knew that her two companions were dead and while she wanted to do a more thorough patdown of T’soni she didn’t think that it could be done safely with just herself.

While walking Eleena thought on how the asari had called her officer. That meant that if they had crossed paths before it was during her time at C-Sec. It could mean that she had ruined a job that this asari and her people had been working. “So where are we headed this fine evening? And you should know that I don’t usually have sex with people on first dates.” That got her a rather painful shove in the back.

“Long term? I couldn’t say where you’re heading. Depends on who decides they want to spend the most money to get ahold of you.”

“Ah. So I’m going to be sold to make you some money.” Eleena had to admit that there were a large number of groups and organizations that would pay a great deal of money to get their hands on someone of her position in the task force. That thought was not exactly comforting. “Not that being sold and then used how my owner pleases isn’t a personal fantasy of mine but I’d rather you didn’t do that.”

An amused tone crept into the asari mercenary’s voice. “While your input is appreciated you’ve cost me a great amount of money in the past so you don’t get a vote in this.”

So she had ruined a job that this asari had been working on. That confirmed that Eleena had had prior contact with this particular Eclipse crew. Unfortunately she still did not know who was behind the tip off regarding her location. “Well I’d say I was sorry for messing with your work in the past but I don’t think that you’d really believe me.”

“And you would be right,” the mercenary said.

“Thought so. Well if you’re about to sell me mind if I ask how you found me. Eclipse isn’t known for its’ surveillance apparatus. More known for your biotics. Nice warp by the way,” Eleena added. ”It completely killed my barrier.”

The asari kept Eleena walking down another level and towards Eclipse territory. “We do what we need to in order to find our targets.”

“Mhmm.” Eleena nodded at the non-answer. “So someone gave you my location, you didn’t find me yourselves.” She smiled to herself as she received another shove in the back. The shove was done more out of annoyance than anything which seemed to indicate that her location had indeed been given to the Eclipse by a third party. If she could somehow find where that information had come from she was confident that she would find Karek Brathor. But before she could work anymore on finding Brathor she had to first make sure that she wasn’t sold off to anyone as a treasure trove of classified information or to someone that had a grudge against her mother and father.

Eleena kept her hands raised as she was directed on where to go. While the after effects of the asari’s warp had worn off Eleena’s body just did not have the energy to properly use biotics. Instead her mind focused on the knife that she still had. Unfortunately the other asari still had her at gunpoint. But if the mercenary could be distracted for even a moment, Eleena was confident she could turn things around.

The pair continued to walk through side streets and places that would not attract much attention. Despite this, Eleena recognized that they were almost in an area completely controlled by Eclipse. She knew that if they reached their destination her chances of escape would drop dramatically. She needed something, anything and fast.

They had turned down another alley when they saw a batarian angrily pounding on a door. He was shouting at someone Eleena assumed was a business associate that had apparently failed to come through on a deal. Obviously still enraged he turned to see Eleena being led on by the Eclipse mercenary. He would have continued on with trying to break down the door had Eleena not smirked derisively at him and cocked her head to the right. His rage seemed to boil over at her subtle actions, just as she had hoped they would.

The batarian lunged at her and despite her jaw almost being dislocated by his punch Eleena smiled. The sudden attack caused the asari mercenary to use biotics to throw the batarian into a wall and also direct her weapon away from Eleena.

In an instant the mercenary realized her mistake as her prize had recovered from the batarian’s punch and shoved the her against a wall. Furious, the asari glowed with dark energy but then stopped and sucked in a breath as she felt something piercing her side. Looking down she saw a knife blade protruding from between her armor plates. A slight feeling of panic struck her as she realized just where T’soni had stabbed her.

“Good. I see you realize the seriousness of the situation.” Eleena said darkly when she saw the panicked look on the asari’s face. “Move and the blade will probably end up cutting your Athamien artery.”

The mercenary met Eleena’s cold gaze with a look of loathing. “Well? Why draw this out? You didn’t hesitate with the others on my crew.”

“No I didn’t.” Eleena watched the asari closely. The glow that the asari had had earlier was completely gone and she had also dropped her weapon. It seemed that she really was just waiting for Eleena to do something. But she would not let her guard down and kept a close watch on the asari for any sign that she was about to do something. “I’m assuming that, given the chance, you’d want to walk away from this alive.

Grudgingly, the mercenary nodded.

“Well despite your attempts to kidnap and sell me I’m inclined to let you live.” Eleena continued watching the asari and never let the grip on her knife falter.

Narrowing her eyes the Eclipse mercenary looked suspiciously at Eleena. “If?”

“You tell me who tipped you off.” Eleena kept her face expressionless. She did not want to show how much she wanted that information. “Give me that and you live another day.”

The asari tried to shift her weight but stopped when she felt the knife move slightly. She hated being in this position. If she could have she would have warped T’soni until there was nothing but a stain on the ground. Unfortunately the knife was still inside her and she had no desire to die. That made her decision easy. “I can’t give you a name. Whoever it was bounced the signal all over the Terminus. They also used an encryption that our techs weren’t familiar with.”

Eleena remained silent for several seconds as she examined the mercenary’s face for any sign of deceit. “Do you have a copy of that encryption?” she finally asked.

Relieved that T’soni had not just killed her for not having what she wanted, the mercenary nodded. “My omni-tool. We were going to hire someone to try and break it after we had you but…” She tried to shrug as best she could with the knife still pressing into her.

“Plans change it seems.” With her free hand, Eleena took the omni-tool off of the asari’s wrist. “Well this was an interesting first date but I don’t think it’ll work out between us. Best go our separate ways.” After putting the omni-tool into her jacket, Eleena struck the asari in the throat and spun her around in order to choke her out. “Shhhh. Don’t fight it. Don’t fight it,” she whispered. When the asari went limp, Eleena gently lowered her to the ground. She then removed her knife and applied medi-gel to the wound. After taking her pistol back from the asari Eleena checked for anything else of value but found nothing.

Eleena was about to leave when pettiness crept into her mind. She fished through her jacket for another credit chit and tucked it along with a note that said “Thanks for the fun time,” in the mercenary’s armor. Chuckling, Eleena left to find a way off the station.

* * *

 

-Citadel

It had taken the swallowing of her pride but Eleena had decided to go to Nyna and asked for a ride off of Omega. After far too much smugness on Nyna’s part an agreement had been made. Eleena would put on a dancer’s outfit for her whenever it was the two of them got together again. In exchange, Nyna had arranged safe passage for Eleena to get back to the citadel. As Eleena departed, Nyna had promised to have an outfit ready and indicated that it might be adjusted here and there to suit her own preferences. It had taken Eleena most of the flight to get Nyna’s rather sadistic smirk out of her mind.

After arriving on the citadel Eleena had gone to the task force’s electronic forensic labs. Once there she had found her friend, Ronoka Tilsa, a salarian cryptologist that had somehow angered her dalatrass enough to be kicked off of Sur’Kesh. Rumor had it that Tilsa had broken into Dalatrass Ronoka’s personal files and that that leverage was what got her exiled rather than killed by STG operatives loyal to the dalatrass.

Tilsa nodded at Eleena but continued analyzing her screen. “Hello, Eleena. Interesting things happening on Omega. I found footage of some crazy asari using biotics to go through a wall. Reports also indicate that Nyna Tevos is currently in a very good mood. Don’t suppose you know anything about that?”

Eleena rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to punch Tilsa in the shoulder. “I’m sure I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“No. Of course not. You’re far too busy being removed from all active investigations and operations.” Tilsa kept her face blank but could not keep a slightly worried tone from her voice. “Just take care with all this downtime you have. I’d rather not lose a friend just because the director needs something done quietly.”

Tilsa’s concern was touching and Eleena put a hand on her shoulder to indicate her appreciation. “I’ll try to be as careful as I can.”

“I suppose that is all I can ask for.” Tilsa finally looked away from her screen and smiled at Eleena. “Now then, I know you must have something for me so what is it?”

Eleena cocked her head to the side in amusement. “Eager much?”

Tilsa let out an exaggerated sigh. “You have no idea. Since Arlana took over your work my priorities have been changed. He’s now wasting my talents on things that we could hire students for.”

“I didn’t realize you enjoyed working with me so much.” Eleena said with a chuckle.

“You at least bring me interesting things that are usually worth my time and abilities.” Fixing Eleena with a pleading look, Tilsa held out her hands. “Come on, Eleena. You’ve got to give me something.”

Somehow Eleena kept herself from laughing and pulled out the omni-tool she had taken from the Eclipse mercenary. “Someone got an encrypted message that gave away my travel plans. Couldn’t get the original message but I do have a copy of the encryption. I was hoping you’d be able to take a look and see just who it belongs to.”

Tilsa groaned but accepted the omni-tool. “This better be some sort of next level encryption and not just me checking it against what we already have on file.”

Eleena held up her hands. “I swear that it isn’t on file. I’m not that much of an idiot.”

“Good,” Tilsa said with a nod. “Otherwise I might accidentally send a copy of that crazy asari going through the diner wall to Lynora.”

Fear suddenly clawed at Eleena as she imagined just how angry Lynora would be at seeing that footage. “That’s low Tilsa. And here I thought we were friends.”

Humming a little, Tilsa smiled as she started going through the omni-tool. “Best stay on my good side then. And if you weren’t my friend I wouldn’t have given you that warning.”

“Uh huh. Call me if you get anything will you?”

“Will do. And the director should be free now if you’re still looking to talk with him.”

Eleena let out a tired sigh. “You know one of these days someone is going to get sick of you looking into everything just because you can.”

“Probably. But that’s why I have you as a friend.” She smiled innocently at Eleena. “You wouldn’t let anything happen to your friend now would you?”

“Assuming that I’m not the one trying to kill you?” Eleena mumbled. “Eh I guess I would keep you safe. Wouldn’t want to deal with the chaos that your death would lead to when all the blackmail and classified information you have gets released.”

“Aw. I knew you cared.” Tilsa said with a laugh. “Now go on. I’m sure the director will be eager to hear from you.”

-

Sure enough when Eleena reached Caeldros’ office he was free. “Director.”

“T’soni. Good to see you.” He nodded at the seat in front of his desk and secured his own office before speaking again. “I don’t suppose you have already located and neutralized this Hegemony faction and made my job a bit easier?”

Eleena smiled sympathetically at Caeldros. “Afraid not. But I’ve got leads that I can’t follow up on my own.” She shook her head and let out a long breath as she thought of everything she had found so far. “And honestly, we might need to call in some favors for one of them.”

Caeldros’ mandibles twitched and he leaned forward. “Alright. What do you have.”

“Three locations in the Terminus where Brathor and his fleet might be.” Turning to a screen on the wall, Eleena started putting up the information she had gathered. First she showed a planet near the border of the Traverse and the Terminus. “This is an old SIU stronghold that was often used as a staging point for operations that would take them into the Traverse. Now the Confederation knows about this particular location but for reasons they didn’t tell me they’ve been unable to reclaim it. Could be that pirates and mercenaries came across it and are using it themselves, I don’t know. All I know is that so far it has been confirmed as open for business.”

“We can send our own people in to scout the location. It looks like it isn’t more than four or five relay jumps away from us.”

Eleena nodded. “We can also send our own people to this location as well.” A different planet came up on the screen. She explained that this particular world was much deeper in Terminus space but situated close to both a primary relay that led into the shared human and batarian space and a secondary relay that reached all across Terminus space. “Same story with this one. Records say that it was never recovered by the Confederation after the war but I apparently didn’t need to know any more details than that.”

Caeldros nodded as Eleena went through the details of the two strongholds that she had discovered. His mind was already coming up with possible plans for assaulting both locations. “What about this third location you learned of?”

A slightly twisted smile appeared on Eleena’s face. “You’re going to love this. After talking with an old friend of Brathor’s I learned that SIU put together an off the books operation that more or less claimed a whole system as their own.”

Sighing, Caeldros motioned for Eleena to continue. “Well you were never one for the mundane. So tell me just how they managed to claim an entire system without anyone hearing about it?”

“How does anyone move about the galaxy without others knowing? They found a dormant mass relay and reactivated it.” Eleena put up the coordinates for the mass relay in human and batarian space. “Learned that SIU had set up their own helium-3 fueling station around a gas giant. No need to fuel at more well known locations. They also set up a pretty impressive space station too. GARDIAN defenses, a limited but dangerous number of drone fighters, it also has prototype armor and shielding that I’m told were stolen during some raids SIU undertook right up until the reapers invaded. Since the war though I can’t say what changes, if any, were made to the station.”

“So the station can remain in its’ position indefinitely with the helium-3 facility.” Caeldros rubbed wearily at the spot where his carapace meet his head. “What about the crew? Surely they need food, water and other resources to survive?”

Eleena nodded. “And you’d be right. Unfortunately you’ll remember that this is an entire system they have control of. So of course there’s a garden world where they set up an automated system to plant and harvest crops. And should anything ever happen to the planet the station itself also has greenhouses to take over food production and provide oxygen. The garden world also has enough fresh water to keep the station active and there’s also a moon with large amounts of ice that can also be used as a source of water should problems arise on the planet.”

“So you’re telling me that there’s an undocumented and completely self sufficient SIU outpost out in the Terminus with access to an uncharted relay that leads right into the heart of human and batarian space?” Caeldros thought he could feel his heart skip a beat as he thought of the attacks that Brathor or anyone could launch if they really did have access to this system.

“Afraid so.” Eleena’s own mind had already considered the damage and chaos that could be caused by someone using the station Kharn had told her about. “Now this is only sourced by one person right now. I believe he was being honest but I’ve got one more person I can track down and try to confirm this.” She sighed and rubbed one of her crests. “Still I didn’t think this was something that I should wait to tell you about, especially after Eclipse targeted me on Omega.”

Caeldros nodded. “Follow up on this final lead of yours. In the meantime we have people close to the Skyllian Verge that I can divert to these coordinates. They’ll be able to confirm if there is a relay there or not.” He shook his head and felt as if someone had just put a weighted pack on his shoulders. “I sincerely hope that there you are wrong and there is not a relay there. But if there is then we I’ll see about calling in a favor with STG to help us deal with it.”

Eleena transferred all the information she had gathered to Caeldros before standing. “I’ll be off then. Gotta track down some people that were part of N7 Special Ops during the war.”

* * *

 

-Drasta

The main spaceport of the Drasta colony had made Eleena momentarily consider that bartering with goods might be better than the galactic use of credits. It was one of the most efficient and well kept ports that she had ever seen with the only others that rivaled it being on Rannoch which the Consensus ran and one on Nevos which she suspected was kept in such fine condition so that business would never run into any problems transporting illicit goods. But Drasta did not have any significant corporate presence or AI systems running things. Instead it seemed that it was simply a matter of pride with the colonists that made them work together to create and maintain such impressive set ups.

Walking through the port Eleena looked for the commercial vehicle Orion. It was not the location of the SIU operative she was looking for but it was the location of someone that might have that information.

Before coming to Drasta Eleena had visited Earth and been given access to the records of the SSV Gagarin, a scout ship that had taken part in numerous raids against Cerberus and Reaper forces during the war. According to the records Admiral Steven Hackett had assigned an N7 fireteam to the ship once the reapers invaded. The N7 fireteam and original Gagarin crew had then served alongside a number of other species in what had become known as N7 Special Ops. Going through those records had been fascinating and tragic but Eleena was more interested in confirming that Khato Dovan had on at least one occasion served alongside the Gagarin crew.

The records had confirmed that the former SIU operative, Khato Dovan, had indeed worked with the Gagarin in order to retrieve and destroy reaper indoctrination devices that Cerberus had been studying. According to reports Dovan had been an unstoppable force when raiding the facility. It was felt that the knowledge of how his people had become indoctrinated studying the Leviathan of Dis caused him to have a significant personal stake in the operation. He had taken part in one additional raid with the Gagarin before leaving to work on helping batarian refugees find relatively safe places to stay during the war. Records of his actions with the refugees were scarce but Eleena already knew that after the war he had left with his family to settle somewhere in the Attican Traverse.

Eleena had been planning to track down each individual member of the Gagarin crew but fortunately the Gagarin’s Commander, now retired Captain, Cassandra Rhodes had been on Earth at the time. She had remembered Dovan and his dedication to trying to help his people but had not spoken with him as often as some other crew members. Her recommendation was for Eleena to locate Alex Bradford, a sentinel that had served as the secondary engineer on the Gagarin. Rhodes felt that Bradford would likely still be with a friend that would know if Dovan had ever spoke about where he might go after the war.

That was how Eleena found herself walking through the spaceport and looking for the commercial vehicle Orion. Apparently Alex Bradford and some of her Alliance friends had started up a shipping business after the war. And while she did not have to Bradford would still fly on some of the ships to care for the engines and ship systems.

It took a while but Eleena eventually did find the Orion and Bradford who invited her aboard to talk. They both settled in the galley and Bradford poured them both some water.

“So, how can I be of service to the task force?” Alex asked as she sipped from her cup.

Eleena felt her omni-tool vibrate slightly but kept her attention on Bradford. “I’m hoping that you might be able to help me find someone that you served with on the Gagarin.”

Alex smiled and set down her glass. “Gonna have to be more specific. The Gagarin ran into a whole bunch of people during the war.”

“So I’ve heard. Krogan scouts, STG, Quarian marines, Turian cabals and Blackwatch among others. Rhodes said she felt like the ship was a glorified taxi at times, moving all of them around the galaxy.”

“Ah. You spoke with Cassandra.” Alex nodded in approval as she remembered her old Commander. “She did say that a couple of times, though just to the original crew. Not that she had a problem with what we were doing. It was a desperate time and we needed all the help from any and everyone.”

“Right. Galaxy spanning war and all that.” Eleena heard a tone cue in her communications implant and nodded to herself before continuing. “Well the person I’m looking for is Khato Dovan. Former SIU. All I’ve been able to find is that after the war he found his family and then they all headed out into the Traverse.”

Alex scratched at her chin as she thought. “I remember Dovan. A real force of nature but he was a good guy.”

“You spoke with him then?” Eleena asked while noting Bradford’s positive attitude towards Dovan. There were still plenty of humans that did not outright hate batarians but still treated them with suspicion.

“Yeah. He spent time by the engines while on the Gagarin.” A small smile appeared on Alex’s face. “His kid apparently was pretty interested in ships and engineering so he wanted to try and get a better understanding of the subject matter.” She chuckled as she remembered what he had said when she asked why SIU hadn’t given him basic training in engine and ship operations. “He said that he could rig any engine in the galaxy into a bomb of some sort but that actually running them was not in his area of expertise.”

Eleena rolled her eyes and let out a small chuckle as she thought of her friend Dralla and how amused she would be at how the SIU taught their operatives. “I know you said it was a desperate time but most humans still aren’t so positive where batarians are concerned.”

Alex shrugged. “Never really cared all that much about what species a lifeform is. Guess growing up on science fiction helped with that.”

“It’s possible.” Eleena briefly thought of her love of the Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes character and how after constantly rereading them she had wanted to become a detective. “I don’t suppose he ever talked about where he might go after the war?”

“Hm. Not that I can remember.” Alex frowned as she tried to think back to the war. She shook her head. “Sorry. If it ever did come up I can’t remember.”

Eleena heard another two tones in her comms before she spoke again. “That’s alright. It was a long time ago. Hard for organics to remember that sort of thing.”

“Yeah… it is.” Alex had noticed Eleena’s use of the word “organics” and was suddenly on edge.

Seeing that Bradford was now more tense than before Eleena raised her hands. “Take it easy. I know that synthetics are still treated with mistrust and outright hostility in most parts of the galaxy but that’s not me.”

Alex’s eyes were narrowed and she was still rather tense. “No offense but why should I trust you?”

“Because I trust her.” A synthesized voice spoke from the galley entrance. A light blue and black mech with a frame in the shape of a stereotypical human female stood there looking at both Eleena and Alex.

“Damn it, Cam. You can’t do that.” Alex stood and walked over to the Alliance Infiltration Unit, which also put her between Eleena and the newcomer.

Cam smiled and gave Alex’s shoulder a pat. “Do not worry. She can be trusted not to attack and attempt to destroy me.”

Alex sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Cam, you can’t know that. Last time we trusted someone they attacked the company with an EMP.”

“Yes but that individual did not have one hundred and fifty-seven geth systems accompanying them.” Cam looked over at Eleena and smiled. “Your friends are quite polite too.”

“I’m glad you think so. I’ve found they can be kind of… well rude, at times,” Eleena said. A stuttering sound emerged from her omni-tool which made her shake her head. “Yes you guys absolutely are rude at times. Don’t try to pretend otherwise.”

Cam found the exchange amusing and took a seat at the table. “I imagine they told you that I was aboard.”

Eleena nodded. “Yeah they gave me a heads up. Uh, is she alright?” She asked while looking at Alex.

Alex had frozen and was staring at Eleena in disbelief. “A hundred and fifty-seven? But… How?”

Eleena held up her arm and her omni-tool glowed. “This was made by the consensus for me. It can support around two hundred systems at a time.” Resting her arm down on the table another stuttering sound came from her omni-tool. “Yeah I know that isn’t the exact number but I’m not here to discuss the specifics of my omni-tool. And you all could be polite and speak in a way that everyone here can understand.”

Another series of stuttering came from the omni-tool before turning into a voice. “Hello, Bradford, Alex. Be aware that communication is inefficient in this form.”

“Right. Uh. Hi.” Alex was still wrapping her head around what Eleena had said. “How they hell did you get an omni-tool from the consensus that was specifically made for you?”

Eleena shrugged nonchalantly. She noticed that Cam and her geth friends were silently communicating wirelessly but decided to just answer Alex. “My parents were friends with Admiral Tali’Zorah vas Rannoch. So I visited Rannoch a lot growing up which meant that I also got to meet a lot of Geth. When I joined the task force they remembered me and asked if they could accompany me as representatives of the consensus.”

Alex just shook her head, still amazed. “So the task force actually employs geth?”

“Uh... “ Eleena fidgeted a little. “Not exactly.”

A smile spread across Alex’s face and she started laughing. “You’re telling me that no one on the citadel or in the task force actually knows that you’re constantly carrying geth around with you?”

Eleena scratched at one of her crests and tried to keep herself from looking too guilty. “Those are your words not mine but…” She shrugged and smiled sheepishly at Alex.

“Damn. You’ve got some balls.” Alex was still chuckling. “And here I was thinking you were going to cause trouble for Cam.”

Still smiling, Eleena shook her head. “Like I said, I’m not one of those people that has a problem with synthetics. Been around them for most of my life and honestly I like them more than organics a lot of the time.”

Cam inclined her head. “That is flattering that you enjoy our company so much but we can at times be as temperamental as organics.”

They all spoke casually for a while. Alex and Eleena exchanged stories of keeping certain people from learning about their synthetic friends with occasional interruptions from Cam and the geth who were both still communicating wirelessly with each other. It turned out that Alex and her friends had made the shipping company in order to give Cam and other Alliance synthetics a place to hide while also being able to travel across the galaxy without much trouble. Eleena’s friends seemed fond of the idea and informed Alex that they would speak with the consensus about employing them at some point.

Eventually Cam brought the talk back to why Eleena was actually there. “Your friends have shared the details of your investigation with me. Yes, I do remember Khato Dovan. He was not initially fond of me but we eventually spoke together regarding engineering.”

“So that was also regarding his child?” Eleena asked while remembering what Alex had said earlier.

“It was. He often vocalized his fear regarding where his family might be and if they were still alive. But he hoped to one day be able to share in his child’s interests.”

Eleena nodded. “Seems like a good family man. Do you remember him ever talking about where he might go if he found his family?”

“He talked of leaving the Hegemony and he mentioned the colonies Asteria and Chasca as places he might take his family should they still be alive. They were still in early stages of development and he hoped that the colonists would accept him and his family despite their being batarian.”

“Asteria and Chasca. Got it.” Eleena had to work hard to keep from groaning as she thought of looking for someone on two colonies she had never visited. “Well I appreciate the help Cam. And I’m sure that my friends in the consensus would welcome you if you ever wanted to visit.” She smiled at Cam and Alex a final time before leaving and heading off to the Attican Traverse.


	4. Chapter 4

-Somewhere in Terminus space

Karek Brathor looked up at Branya from his seat. “You’re sure about this?”

“Our contact has confirmed that while Caeldros has been quiet about it he has been redeploying task force personnel and some seem to be heading towards the relay.”

“Damn it.” Karek’s mind was going over possible responses should the task force find and jump through the relay to their location. “How could they have learned about the relay?”

Branya did not immediately respond and felt a small pang of anger at the situation and a small wave of sympathy for Karek. “Our own people on Omega reported that T’soni sought out the Talons, one member in particular.” She paused again, not wanting to continue.

Karek leaned forward and nodded for Branya to continue. She had never been one for dramatics so he did not know why she was keeping silent.

Knowing that stalling would not serve anyone she decided to just come out with it. “Surveillance images show that she met with Kharn.” She watched Karek as he took in her words. Years ago she had been with him when they had planned a coup to overthrow Barcob and the Confederation. She had also been there when Kharn had betrayed them and given away their location to the Confederation’s security forces. Her fist slowly clenched as she remembered seeing and doing her best to kill Kharn during the raid. Unfortunately he had survived and seemed to still be causing problems.

“Kharn.” Karek didn’t move for a moment and just closed his eyes. He remembered all the times that he and Kharn had been deployed together. They had saved each other on more than one occasion and Kharn had always been welcome at Karek’s home for holidays. He had been depending on Kharn’s support during the coup. When Barcob’s security forces arrived he knew what his friend must have done.

Opening his eyes, Karek realized that Branya was still watching him. He silently chastised himself for getting lost in the past. He let out a breath and tried to clear his head. “If T’soni spoke with Kharn then the damage is done. He was aware of this place and likely told her all he could. Though if Caeldros is only moving small numbers of people then he must be waiting for T’soni to find another source to confirm what Kharn said so we still have some time.”

“We should prepare to leave. We do not know when the task force will finally jump through the relay.” Branya was already working out how long it would take to wipe the station of all information and have the fleet make its way through the relay.

Karek agreed. They could not afford to be caught in this system. Secrecy had protected them for decades but without that secrecy they were now in a vulnerable position. Still this station could serve a final use. “Make sure that our people get out and head for Elysium. I will speak with the others about slowing down the task force and diverting attention away from us.”

* * *

 

-Chasca

Eleena was not in a great mood. She had spent significant amounts of time combing through any records she could on Asteria as well as speaking with various asari and human colonists about Khato Dovan but she had not found anything. Her general frustration at not finding anything on Asteria would not have been that bad if several asari and human colonists had not recognized her name. In one way or another those that had recognized her had wanted to her to thank her parents for their actions during the war. That blind awe and gratefulness the colonists still seemed to have for her parents had gotten under Eleena’s skin and had caused her to entertain her own thoughts on her parents while on the way to Chasca.

While Eleena did not dispute the fact that her parents had done great things and had been instrumental in ending the war with the reapers she had worked with C-Sec and the task force long enough to know that nothing was ever black and white. Yes her father had activated the crucible and ended the reaper threat but what other actions had Commander Shepard taken to get to that point? The situation that Eleena was currently dealing with was a direct result of things that her father had done. Again she would grant anyone that the destruction of the Alpha Relay had given the galaxy a fighting chance against the reapers but what other unintended consequences might the galaxy face as a result of her father’s choices?

Eleena continued to wrestle with her own mixed feelings about her parents even after she arrived on Chasca and began going through colonial records. Those thoughts moved away from her slight frustration at having to clean up the aftermath of her father’s actions and towards her own personal frustration at her parents.

For years Eleena had had a complicated relationship with her parents. She loved them but she had often been unhappy at being their child. It had been hard to live up to the savior of the galaxy and the constant insistence of instructors for her to be more like Shepard, if she ever messed something up, had only made her feel inadequate. That made any of her few personal accomplishments feel hollow at best, no matter what words of encouragement her parents gave her.

Eventually Eleena’s parents had realized that something was obviously wrong and had tried to help. While Eleena appreciated their efforts they had only increased her feelings of inadequacy. Things had gotten worse until Claire asked Samara for help. That call had likely saved Eleena’s life. Samara had helped a great deal and had taken her to Lesuss, where Samara’s daughter Falere had built a new home. There Samara had taken over her education and biotic training which were not the standard education given to young asari but a mixture of the Justicar training Samara had gone through as well as any additional experiences she had had in her centuries of experience. Samara had also spoken a great deal about family and about the joy and pain that it could cause. Eleena would be forever grateful for Samara’s help as it had made her a viable candidate for C-Sec and more importantly had begun to mend the rift between herself and her parents.

While her mind continued to think on her parents Eleena was still searching Chasca for any signs of Khato Dovan. Like so many worlds Chasca had received a large influx of refugees after the war. Thankfully in the forty some years since the end of the war there had been time for accurate colonial records to be made. Those records did show that several batarians had come to Chasca during the mass relocations of civilians. There were records of a few families but the dates on the records revealed that only one had actually come to Chasca together as a whole while the others had arrived separately.

The one family that had come to Chasca together was not listed under the name Dovan and the records did not mention Khato at all. However, when adjusted for time, this Pran’komon family fit the same general description the Confederation had on the Dovan family before they left batarian space. Eleena suspected that Khato might have changed his and his family’s names for protection in the post war galaxy. Finding their address, Eleena left to find the Pran’komon family.

-

The trip to the settlement was not long and Eleena managed to find the Pran’komon’s home without much difficulty. She waited patiently outside their door after buzzing and was greeted by an older batarian woman.

The woman’s eyes gave Eleena a quick once over and she concluded that Eleena was not another colonist but from offworld. “May I help you?”

Eleena nodded. “I’m hoping that you might be able to. Grella Pran’komon right?”

Grella inclined her head slightly. She was still suspicious as to why an obvious offworlder would be at her door. Years of paranoia due to living under the Hegemony had not quite left her even if she had made good friends with the other refugees that lived on Chasca. “And you would be?”

“Eleena T’soni. I’m with the task force.” She watched Grella’s face and saw a small twitch that might have indicated worry. “I was hoping to speak with Krath if he is around.”

Even out in the Traverse, Grella and the other colonists were familiar with the task force. Grella had even been supportive of them after she heard of their actions in saving a batarian colony from human extremists. But her old paranoia had returned now that someone from the task force was at her doorstep. Her mind began to race with thoughts of being taken away and kept indefinitely in a secret prison all in the name of security.

After waiting for several long seconds Eleena decided she should speak again. “Grella? Grella I’m just here to ask a few questions about someone I think Krath once knew. That’s all.” She was fairly certain that her presence was bringing back memories of the Hegemony locking away political dissenters and other disruptive citizens.

Realizing that she had remained silent for too long, Grella took a steadying breath. This was not the Hegemony but she could not just accept whatever this Eleena said. “Krath is not here right now. And you’ll forgive me but for now I will remain skeptical about your reasons for being here.”

Eleena nodded. “Fair enough. Not everyday someone like me comes by to a colony out in the Traverse.” She looked around and saw a bench nearby. “Mind if I just wait for him to show up then?”

Grella saw Eleena look at the bench and waved her hand at it. “You may wait for him there. Just do not be surprised if he does not want to speak with you.” She watched as Eleena went off to the bench and took a seat. Going back into her home Grella called Krath and told him about Eleena. After ending their call she sat at their kitchen table and thought of the life she and Krath had made for themselves and their child. It had been better than anything they could have ever hoped for. She just prayed that it was not going to end and that the task force really was different from the Hegemony and its police forces.

As she waited Eleena picked up a stick to whittle. It was a small mindless activity that allowed her to keep an eye on everything else going on around her. For a while she did not notice anything but eventually she did hear another door to the Pran’komon house open and close followed by the sound of footsteps leading away from the building. Eleena assumed that Grella was leaving to get farther away from her. That meant that Krath or Khato must be close by trying to see just what Eleena might do.

As Eleena continued to whittle she watched several places where a decent sniper might be hidden and watching her. She did not know anything about the other batarian colonists that were on Chasca but was willing to bet that one or two might be friendly with Krath and willing to help if anyone ever threatened his family. It was another ten minutes or so before she heard footsteps behind her.

“Eleena T’soni. I hear that you’re looking for me.”

After blowing some wood shavings off of her knife, Eleena shrugged but did not turn around. “Depends.”

“On what?”

The batarian was now almost directly behind her but just out of range should Eleena decide to forcibly meld with him. Not many people outside of the asari themselves knew about that distance. That made Eleena all the more confident that Krath Pran’komon was indeed Khato Dovan. “Depends on whether or not you’re actually Khato Dovan former SIU who served with Karek Brathor.”

The batarian behind Eleena did not say anything for a moment and just watched as she continued whittling. “Those are dangerous names to have. Which makes me wonder just how dangerous you really are.”

Again Eleena shrugged, not wanting to appear too threatening. “Plenty of dangerous people in the galaxy. Though honestly with what I have access to and the things I’ve done there are probably files with my name on them in various government facilities.”

“Honesty. Not something that I’ve come to expect from people I don’t know.” He put away a weapon that he had been aiming at Eleena but nodded in the distance to signal his friend to keep his rifle on her. Coming around he sat on the bench with Eleena. “Well since you were honest I will be too. I was Khato Dovan. But that was a long time ago.”

Eleena nodded and wiped her knife free of a wood shaving before putting it away. “Would you prefer I call you Krath then?”

“I would. It was the name I chose for this chapter of my life.” He continued to watch Eleena out of the corner of his eyes. “Understand that I have no intention of returning to a previous chapter of my life. This is who I am and I will not allow you or anyone else to change that.” His voice remained cool but there was an undeniable warning behind it.

“Understood.” Eleena kept her voice level as well, not wanting to betray any emotion or nervousness that she might feel.

Krath remained silent for a moment as he examined Eleena for any sign that might indicate she was planning something. “Good. So long as you understand that you may ask about Karek.”

Eleena tossed the stick she had been whittling away and shifted so she was actually facing Krath. “What I’m really after is confirmation on something I’ve been told.”

“Bad intelligence gets people killed.” Krath said more to himself than to Eleena. “What have you heard?”

“Supposedly there was an off the books SIU operation that claimed an entire system for themselves. I was hoping you could confirm or deny that.” Eleena only gave a generalization to see what Krath knew and would be willing to share.

“Military space station, helium-3 fueling station, automated crop production and water filtration systems.” Krath rattled off from memory.

Eleena gave Krath an incredulous look. “That was fast.”

Krath’s expression did not change as he spoke. “Charting undocumented mass relays and secretly setting up those facilities is not something that happens every day nor is it something you forget.”

“Alright. I can’t argue with that.” Eleena was under the impression that Krath just wanted to answer her questions quickly so that she would leave. “Don’t suppose you’ve heard from Karek after he was driven off of Khar’shan?”

“No. The last time I actually saw him was before the reapers invaded. We had been planning other operations before everything became chaos.”

Eleena nodded as she remembered what Kharn had told her about SIU plans to abduct her father and to drop an asteroid on a human world. She asked for more specifics to confirm everything else Kharn had said about the facilities that SIU had set up but she was not able to learn any additional information about the system. Any questions she had regarding Karek Brathor only expanded on his hatred for humanity and complete and utter loyalty to the Hegemony.

Having confirmed what she needed to and knowing that Krath did not want her there any longer than necessary she decided to leave. “Appreciate your time. Sorry for any inconvenience I might have caused.”

“Just a moment.” Krath stood and stopped Eleena from walking away. He had fought many asari in his time with SIU. Enough that he was familiar with the average distance they needed to meld with someone among other things. Looking at Eleena he was surprised at how young she was. Seeing how young she seemed to be had upset something in him. A galaxy wide war had ended with unprecedented unity between races and yet children were still being used to fix the problems of previous generations. “I’m not sure why you do what you do but given how long you still have to live you should get out of all this sooner rather than later. You don’t want your own actions to start coming back to haunt you or those you care for.”

Eleena’s mind had immediately gone to her father, to Shepard and the current situation she was trying to deal with. She then remembered the asari on Omega that had targeted her due to her previous work with C-Sec. It made her pause and consider just what might happen to her or Lynora if she continued her work with the task force. “Definitely good advice. Especially since my actions have already started giving me problems.” With a final nod at Krath, Eleena left Chasca, wondering how long she could reasonably work with the task force and maintain a personal life.

* * *

 

-Citadel

Returning to the Task Force headquarters on the Citadel made Eleena feel a bit guilty. Agents were moving about with a silent but obvious urgency. With the scheduled date of Dholla Barcob’s confirmation and then the signing of the Treaty of London approaching more threats from extremist groups were pouring in at an increasing frequency. Eleena had no doubt that she would also be overwhelmed with work had Caeldros not put her on her current assignment.

As soon as she arrived at Caeldros’ office, Eleena shared what Krath had told her. While they both were glad that the lead had panned out neither of them were exactly comforted by that confirmation. It meant that Karek Brathor might have a heavily fortified military space station at his disposal in addition to the fleet that the Executor’s informant had learned of.

“What about the people you sent to scout the relay and the other two bases? Have they reported back?” Eleena asked after they had gone through all the information that Kharn and Krath had given them on the space station itself.

“They have. They found the relay after some searching and have been keeping me informed. Currently, other than it being an active and undocumented relay, there has been nothing out of the ordinary to report. As for the other locations, one was completely abandoned while the other was being used by pirates. We informed the proper authorities before calling our people back.”

“Was hoping we might find them at a location we could actually observe,” Eleena muttered to herself. Sighing, she shook her head. She did not like the conclusion she had already come up with but could not see another way to deal with the relay and the station that was on the other side. “We’re going to need military support for this. We don’t have the resources to launch an assault on a station like this nevermind the ships that the Executor’s informant learned about. And with what Kharn and Krath told me any scouting party we send through the relay will be detected by the station.”

Caeldros’ mandibles twitched slightly as he tried to consider other options but came up with none. The task force had resources to conduct wide investigations and smaller raids but they were not an army and they did not have the personnel or ships necessary to assault this space station. He did not like being forced into an all out assault without more information on the station itself but sending a scouting party through the relay would almost certainly alert Brathor or whoever else was in control of the station. “I agree,” he finally said. “Stealth is not an option here. We need to go in strong and soon. The longer we wait the closer Brathor will get to whatever it is he has planned. I don’t suppose you learned anything else about a potential target?”

Eleena shook her head. “I haven’t found anything on what he might actually be planning. No one has seen him in years but everything I heard about his hatred of the Confederation makes me think that Barcob’s confirmation is still a likely target.” A crease formed between her eyes as she thought for a moment. “But you can also include any major Confederation supporters or even humans, if you’re making a list. He was a hardline supporter of the Hegemony and had a coup all lined up to oust Barcob and her people before his forces were driven off of Khar’shan.”

“We’ll inform the Alliance and Confederation to be on increased alert but for now this system and the SIU facilities need to be secured. There is no telling what damage could be done with that access to human and batarian space.” Noticing that his friend and protege seemed distracted, Caeldros paused and looked directly at her. “What is it?”

Realizing that her thoughts must have shown on her face Eleena silently berated herself. She should have been in control of herself and yet her emotions still got the better of her at times. Knowing that she had to say something and that Caeldros knew her well enough to see through her lies, Eleena went with the truth. “I didn’t tell you this before. I know I probably should have but…” She shook her head, annoyed at herself. “It explained why Brathor hates the Confederation and any humans that helped to support it. But it didn’t give me any additional leads.”

“That sort of information can be quite useful in building a profile on someone.” Caeldros was not exactly annoyed that Eleena had not shared everything with him. He could not reasonably demand to know the exact details of every investigation that he gave out to his agents. But Eleena was rarely distracted and he wanted to know why she was now. “What did you learn?”

“Brathor’s family.” Eleena felt a pang of guilt even though she had not been responsible for what had happened. “They died on Aratoht.”

Caeldros did not say anything at first but he immediately understood the significance of that information. Eleena’s father, Shepard, was responsible for the deaths of Brathor’s family. That certainly would lead a man to harbor a hatred of humanity which likely only got worse when humanity started to help rebuild batarian worlds. But that did not really matter just now. He could tell that Eleena felt guilty and maybe even a little angry that this situation with Karek Brathor was a result of her father’s actions but he needed her focused. “That was a different time. Things were desperate. And all the reports and analyses indicate that your father had no choice in the matter. There is also proof that she tried to warn the colonists to evacuate.”

Eleena knew that Caeldros was trying to make her feel better. She appreciated his efforts but it was not working. Looking at her friend she gave a single nod. She knew her emotions had no place in the current situation. With a practiced ease that she knew Caeldros and some others found alarming Eleena cut herself off from her emotions and went cold. “Doesn’t matter at this point. What’s done is done. Now we need to deal with this.” Looking at her friend Eleena brought things back on track. “I take it you’ve got an idea of where we can get more support.”

Caeldros shook his head. It had always disturbed him whenever Eleena seemed to cut herself off from her feelings. As an asari she was far too young to have that ability. It also made him sad that at such an early age she was involved in this sort of work that highlighted the worst extremes of the galaxy. Meeting her gaze her knew that anything he might talk about other than Brathor would be a waste of breath. “I have a few ideas but this one is the most promising.” Caeldros pulled up some information on his terminal and shared it with Eleena. “The Alliance’s Sixth Fleet is conducting war games in the Skyllian Verge along with a detachment from their 103rd marine division and some asari commandos from Lusia.”

Eleena took a look at the screen and then nodded. “If you can get the Alliance to lend them to us then the Sixth Fleet should be able to keep whatever ships Brathor has occupied and hopefully draw fire from the station’s defenses. That should give our people a window so they can land on the station and disable its defenses. Once the defenses are down the Alliance can send in the marines to clean up whatever we missed going in.”

“I’ll get us their support. I also want you there with our teams. Your experience with batarians makes you ideal for questioning any survivors.” Caeldros paused and his mandibles moved in a thoughtful way before he continued. “Take a technical expert with you. GARDIAN defenses are always well defended.”

Thinking of the omi-tool she was wearing and her one hundred and fifty-seven friends within it Eleena felt that she had technical expertise handled. “I’m also going to need a comm specialist. Someone to coordinate with the Alliance.”

“Take Hassan with you. She was Alliance and can coordinate comms from the Sixth Fleet.”

Eleena nodded in approval. Dina Hassan had been a comms specialist in the Alliance before joining the task force and had been excellent at keeping their field teams informed of any relevant information. “Will do.” She stood and made her way to the door. “I’ll get our people ready to link up with the Sixth Fleet.”

* * *

 

-Edge of Confederation and Alliance space in the Skyllian Verge

Caeldros had been good on his word and had gotten the Systems Alliance to allow the task force use of the Sixth Fleet for the assault. That had also included the asari commandos, The Blades of Kasira, that were apparently on loan to the 103rd as part of a cross species training program. Having asari commandos working with them had not exactly thrilled Eleena as she had never seen eye to eye with them on their spiritual and philosophical takes on the the galaxy. If anything she thought that they were more than a bit insufferable with their holier than thou attitudes. Another point of contention between herself and many other asari was her having grown up living with a human standard of time. So while she currently lived, acted and felt like an adult the majority of asari she met often dismissed her as a child or teenager.

Regardless of her feelings for asari commandos Eleena had a job to do. So she simply buried her feelings and worked to make sure everyone was on the same page. After briefing the alliance officers and asari on the SIU space station, Brathor’s fleet and the need to recover any evidence and personnel they could she moved to the hanger to prepare herself, the task force tactical teams and the asari commandos for their assault.

Weapons and equipment checks were completed and team leaders were going over details and questions with their teams. Eleena was almost through with her own checks when she was approached by the leader of the asari commando unit. “Captain D’nari.” Eleena acknowledged the huntress while checking over her weapons. “What can I do for you?”

“Assistant Director T’soni.” D’nari inclined her head, respectfully. “I simply wanted to inform you that my people are ready to go.”

Eleena checked the sights of her rifle, a newer variant of the old mattock model, and nodded at D’nari. “I appreciate the update and your people's support in this. Doubt I need to tell you how important it is that we secure this station.”

“No you do not need to inform me of the importance of this operation.” D’nari watched as Eleena continued to prepare. It was obvious that Eleena was an incredibly young asari and yet here she was leading an assault and in the position of Assistant Director of the galaxy’s anti terror task force. She had not seen an asari so young choose to take on such responsibilities before and it made her curious as to why such a young person would make such choices. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.” Eleena said while collapsing her rifle and securing it to her back. She had a fairly good idea of where the huntress was going to go with her questioning but found that she just did not care what the older asari thought of her young age.

“Why is it that someone so young chooses to put themselves on this path through life? You are obviously skilled at what you do otherwise you would not be here but being a young maiden you could have chosen to do anything.”

Eleena had to admit that that was a much kinder and nuanced way of asking why a ‘child’ was in a position of leadership. D’nari hadn’t even gotten into a long winded philosophical speech about young asari getting to learn what the galaxy has to offer. Eleena shrugged. “School wasn’t working out.” She answered simply and truthfully.

D’nari smiled amusedly at Eleena’s simple throw away answer. She assumed that being the daughter of the savior of the galaxy would not have been easy but Eleena’s current position still seemed like a drastic departure from the typical maiden. “So simply because school did not work you are now in your current position?”

“Well I’m also in this current position because I’m familiar with batarian body language and so will be heading up the interrogation of whatever prisoners we take on the station.” Eleena began double checking her armor which only seemed to highlight her differences from D’nari and the other asari as it was much closer in design to Alliance standards rather than the lighter commando leathers.

“You are twisting my words and their intention.” D’nari spoke in a thoughtful tone. “That indicates you have a quick and creative mind. That is a trait we welcome in potential huntresses.”

Eleena rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know you were recruiting. And if I had actually wanted to be a huntress then I’d have signed up for that training.”

“Then why pursue a career in C-Sec and then the task force? There is a fair amount of overlap in what they and huntresses do.”

That got under Eleena’s skin. Huntresses were not law enforcement they were military. And militaries existed to promote the interests of their own government no matter how questionable those interests might be. They would take part in assassinations, sabotage and other illegal actions that governments would condemn if they were done by another species but were perfectly acceptable for themselves. It had been a hypocrisy that Eleena had never been able to reconcile and was a large reason why she had chosen to stay away from the military.

Looking up at D’nari, Eleena shook her head. “Maybe some overlap in how the average person sees us but there is no overlap in our purpose. You serve a species, I serve the galaxy.”

D’nari was not offended. It was true that she primarily served the people of Monoi, then Lusia and then the other Republics. Given the chance she might even serve a matriarch if she found one she believed in. But where she felt pride in that Eleena seemed to be disdainful of putting priority to their own people. “Is that such a terrible thing, to help your own people?”

After cinching one of her greaves on tighter, Eleena frowned at D’nari. “You know perfectly well that it can be.” Her mind had immediately gone to the Temple of Athame incident. The asari had been in violation of the very laws that they themselves had set up in regards to Prothean technology, all in the name of helping out their own people. She also thought of what they were currently doing and what she had been doing for years, preventing species extremists from hurting others. When unchecked, thinking of only your own species could lead to disastrous consequences.

The Temple of Athame had also come across D’nari’s mind and she was certain that Eleena was also thinking of it. “The beacon was not representative of our entire species.”

“And yet “our entire species” owes its placement in the galaxy to that beacon.” Eleena held up a hand to stop anything D’nari was about to say. “Look, I respect you as an individual. You and the Blades of Kasira are extremely talented. I just don’t have much faith in the asari government when it comes to the good of the galaxy versus the good of the asari species. I don’t have a lot of faith in most governments when it comes to that.”

A small frown spread across D’nari’s face as she looked Eleena up and down. Eleena was not the first person born after the war with the reapers that she had met but Eleena was the first that seemed to be cynical rather than hopeful about the new state of the galaxy. But that outlook did explain why Eleena would pursue a position in what was arguably the most neutral organization in the galaxy when it came to who the task force served. “You are a little young to be so distrustful of the galaxy’s institutions.”

“Maybe. But if history is anything to go by then there’s reason to be distrustful. What’s the human phrase, trust but verify? That’s what I do when the governments and their institutions are involved.”

“Hm. That borders on paranoia but in moderation there is some wisdom in that sentiment.”

“High praise coming from a huntress.” Eleena might have continued their conversation but her attention was drawn to the hanger’s speaker system which announced that it was time for the strike teams to board their shuttles. “Time to go to work,” Eleena said to D’nari.

D’nari nodded at Eleena and then smiled. She disagreed with Eleena’s cynical take on governments, particularly with the asari, but it was somehow refreshing to find someone with that different view. Perhaps she had spent too much time with the Blades of Kasira to the point where her own views were merely echoed by her sisters. “You are an interesting individual, Eleena T’soni. Despite our differences of opinion I think that I would enjoy speaking more with you after all of this.”

“Buy me a drink or some food and we can talk again.” Eleena’s mind was already returning to the assault on the station. Clapping D’nari’s shoulder, Eleena gave a final nod before turning to make sure all the teams were in their shuttles.

Once Eleena and her team had taken their seats in their own shuttle she checked their comms. “Athena one-one to all team leaders, comm check, over”

“Athena one-one, Shadow two-one, I read you loud and clear. Over.” A salarian that had spent time in STG before joining the task force.

“Athena one-one, Titan three-one, roger. Over.” A turian cabal that Caeldros had personally recruited.

“Athena one-one, Delta four-one, I read you five by five. Over.” A human N6 that was something of an idealist when it came to galactic cooperation between species.

“Athena one-one, Vaul five-one, you’re loud and clear. Over.”Another turian. His family had died during the Miracle at Palavan which left him to be raised by some of the krogan commandos Urdnot Wrex had sent to relieve the turians.

“Athena one-one, Kasira six-one, you are coming in loud and clear. Over.” D’nari, the surprisingly polite asari commando.

“Team leaders, Athena one-one, roger. Out.” Eleena nodded to herself as all the transmissions came in clearly. “Home one, Athena one-one. We still on schedule? Over.”

“Athena one-one this is Home one, we are on schedule and are in our final approach to the relay. Fighter squadrons from the SSV Darwin are standing by to launch and engage GARDIAN defenses and drone forces to clear you a path to the hanger.” Dina Hassan answered from her position aboard the Sixth Fleet’s flagship the dreadnaught SSV Denali. “Be advised, the Admiral has asked that I again inform you that marine reinforcements will not be deployed until the station’s GARDIAN defenses are disabled. Over.”

Eleena sighed. Admiral Harper had been perfectly happy to engage in ship to ship combat with batarians, she suspected that he still held some ill will towards them. But he had made it perfectly clear that he valued the lives of the men and women of the 103rd more than the lives of the task force agents Eleena had brought with her. And he would not risk them being shot down by the station’s defenses when he could instead engage in the relatively safer ship to ship combat. So the task force and asari commandos would have to secure the station and disable its defenses before the Admiral would even think of sending in the 103rd. It was not that Eleena thought the Admiral was being unreasonable, it made sense to wait for Eleena and her people to deal with the defenses. And given that he had previously served with the First Fleet during the reaper invasion, she understood his aversion to losing more human lives. But Harper could have been a bit more tactful when he said that he would torpedo the station with them still on it if it meant keeping the Alliance safe. “Home one, Athena one-one. Understood. Out.”

With nothing to do but wait, Eleena looked around the shuttle to ensure everyone was still ready. Her team seemed to be completely relaxed, one human, O’connor, was even reading a holobook on her omni-tool. Content that there was nothing else she could do until they were in the space station’s hanger Eleena sat and listened to Dina’s updates on their distance from the relay. Those updates were then relayed out to the other strike teams.

Ten minutes.

A quarian on her team was playing a mock game of five finger fillet with a pen. Humans had taught him the game and he had taken to it with enthusiasm.

Five minutes.

O’connor closed her omni-tool and shared a laugh with another human about the contents of the holobook.

Two minutes.

Eleena could feel a sense of uncertainty build inside her. She had no idea if Karek Brathor was even on the other side of the relay. Self doubt clawed at the back of her mind as she wondered if everything they were doing would be for nothing.

She took a breath and rolled her shoulders. Self doubt and any other uncertainties had no place here. Emotions had no place here. With practiced ease she cut herself off from her feelings. A plan could have a starting point based on emotions, there was nothing wrong with that. But the execution of that plan was ice cold and done with logic and reasoned thoughts.

One minute.

A single tone cue came through on her communications implant. Her friends were ready.

The fleet transmitted its total mass to the relay and was sent across the galaxy.


	5. Chapter 5

- **Somewhere in Terminus space**

The Alliance Sixth Fleet emerged from the mass effect corridor and was met with nothing more than the silence of space.

Despite the uneventful arrival Dina Hassan was relaying whatever information she could to Eleena and the other task force agents. The fleet had picked up the space station as well as the helium-3 fuel station on its sensors but they did not see Brathor’s fleet. Sensors indicated that the space station was still active so fighter squadrons were preparing to launch from the carrier SSV Darwin while the rest of the fleet moved into position to prevent any ships from leaving the station.

Listening in to the fleets communications, Eleena heard as the fleet positioned itself between the station and the relay. Everything seemed to be going smoothly though Eleena was still listening intently to everything she could. She sincerely hoped that everything would continue to be as uneventful as their arrival had. Though she knew that if it did go smoothly then that meant that Karek Brathor was somewhere else in the galaxy and she had no other leads on where he might be.

Fighters and drones launched from the SSV Darwin and started eliminating GARDIAN emplacements. Initial strikes on several laser emplacements were confirmed with minimal drone losses. The shuttles that carried Eleena and the other strike teams were preparing to leave the hanger when Dina started speaking very quickly and urgently to the task force agents and asari commandos. 

“All strike teams this is Home one. Sensors are picking up a fleet of ships coming around from the far side of the gas giant. We’re cut off from the relay. Sixth fleet is moving to engage. You need to leave now before the fleet gets bogged down.” 

“Roger that Home one.” Eleena turned to the front of the shuttle where the pilot and co-pilot sat. “Fire it up. We need to leave now,” she called out to the pilots. 

The pilot’s hands began moving over their controls in practiced motions and Eleena could just hear the engines start despite the shuttle’s walls and dampeners. After receiving permission to leave the pilots took off and the flight of shuttles flew out of the hanger and into space.

Eleena and the rest of her team all sat quietly. All their training meant nothing as they flew through the vacuum of space. So, until they were in the station’s hanger, they were completely dependant on the pilots. That knowledge did not sit well with Eleena and many of the other task force agents and it showed through clenched fists and jaws. 

The interior of the shuttle remained silent other than what the pilots were saying over their own lines of communication. It seemed that they were concerned that the initial strikes on the GARDIAN emplacements were not enough to allow them relatively safe access to the hanger. 

Eleena was hoping that the Darwin’s drone and fighter squadrons were preparing for another series of strikes when another transmission from Dina to the shuttle pilots made her stomach turn over. 

“Sabre, this is Home one. Be advised, drone forces are being launched from the station.”

“Home one, Sabre three-one copies,” the pilot in Eleena’s shuttle responded. The other shuttles then also responded that they had heard Dina’s transmission. A call then went out to the fighters that were still launching strikes on the stations defenses. 

It was not as if they had not anticipated the station’s drone forces but Eleena had been hoping that the GARDIAN lasers were all that the shuttles would have to deal with. Though oddly enough Eleena was also comforted by the drones. Their presence gave credence to everything she had learned from Kharn, Krath and the Executor’s informant. Hopefully that meant that in the end she and her teams would be able to apprehend Brathor before he could move forward with whatever his plans were.   

Angeling her head, Eleena began listening in on the pilots frequencies. Some of the Darwin’s fighters had responded to Sabre’s request and were moving to assist.

“Sabre three-one, this is Hunter two-one you have a flight of four F-68s with eight Vipers for the section. Stand by for GARDIAN suppression, over.” 

“Roger two-one. Go get them.” 

“I have a good tone, good tone. Fox three, fox three. Good kill, good kill. Sabre three-one, you’re clear all the way to the hanger. Good luck. Out.” 

A small feeling of relief washed over Eleena and the rest of her team. The concern of being killed while in transit left her only to be replaced with the darkly amusing thought that she could now possibly be killed by former SIU members and other batarians. 

“One minute.” The pilot called out to Eleena and the other task force agents. 

Eleena undid her safety harness and stood from her seat. Reaching over her shoulder she then pulled her rifle from her back. The other agents followed suit and prepared for the shuttle to touch down. 

The shuttle had gone quiet with the only sounds coming from the pilots as they continued to speak over their radios. The task force agents all knew the plan and what was expected of them so they had no reason to speak about anything. 

“We’re in the hanger. Touching down.” 

The side door opened as the shuttles descended to the hanger floor. Eleena raised her rifle and quickly scanned the hanger. No one was in their immediate vicinity but there were catwalks above them along with what looked like a control room for the hanger. “Shadow, take the catwalks and control room. See if you can do anything about those drones outside.”

“Copy that Athena.” As their shuttle touched down the members of Shadow exited and proceeded up a flight of stairs to the catwalks above the hanger. 

Meanwhile the rest of the strike teams spread out across the hanger. Athena, Titan, Delta and Kasira moved to secure the entrances to the hanger while Vaul took up defensive positions around the shuttles which would remain on the station as long as the battle outside was taking place. 

“Home one, Athena one-one. We’ve got a foothold. What’s it look like outside? Over.” Eleena spoke as her team stacked up at their entrance. 

“Copy that Athena one-one. Be advised, the fleet is still engaged and being drawn further away from the station. We’ll make sure no one makes their way back to you but you might have to wait even longer on those marine reinforcements. Over.” 

“Roger that Home one. Athena out.” Eleena ended her transmission and gently gave the agent in front of her two pats on the shoulder. That signal went down the line until it reached the lead agent who opened the door and with his rifle up led the team deeper into the station. 

The passageway that Eleena and her team were in was deserted but according to the layout that she had received from Kharn they were heading in the direction of the station’s main security office. The plan was to upload her geth friends into the station’s systems so the task force teams could gain control of the station’s GARDIAN defenses and any other internal security systems such as cameras. Of course the other task force agents were not aware that she had geth with her. All they knew was that she needed some time to get into the security systems. 

“All teams, this is Shadow. Drone controls were wired with explosives but we managed to disarm them. Keep an eye out for additional explosives throughout the station. Over.” 

“Copy that, Shadow.” Came various acknowledgements from the other strike teams. 

Eleena frowned slightly as her team continued moving. She was not sure why Brathor would rig specific systems with explosives. There were easier and more effective ways to keep people out of the station’s systems. Was it to slow the task force down and buy time? Buy time for what? 

The team paused and again stacked up at another doorway. A silent signal went down the line and the task force agents cleared the room. It was empty but they could hear over their comms that the other teams were meeting resistance and drawing attention. 

Moving on, Eleena tried to focus on the task at hand. They had to reach the security office. But something was gnawing at the back of her mind. Why rig explosives at all? No one in their right mind would simply have explosives rigged to their controls as a matter of principle. Could Brathor have known about the task force and the Sixth Fleet? 

Rounding a corner into another passageway, Eleena’s team were met with gunfire. 

The agents winced as they quickly returned fire before retreating back behind the corner. 

“We need as many alive as we can. Get some concussive rounds down there.” 

One agent moved out into the passageway and created a biotic barrier, providing cover to two other agents that began firing off non-lethal concussive rounds at the batarians. 

“O’connor, you’re up.” Eleena called out over the sound of all the weapons fire.

Grinning, O’connor pulled a modified arc projector from her back. A hum could be heard as the weapon powered up. “Alright baby, do your thing.” She said to the weapon before leaning out behind the corner and firing at the batarians. 

Electricity arced towards a single batarian and from him to the others around him. They all convulsed and fell to the floor as the electricity coursed through their bodies. 

The agents advanced down the passageway and secured the batarians with cuffs. For good measure, Eleena dosed them all with something to keep them unconscious for the duration of the raid. 

“Let’s go. They’ll keep for at least an hour.” Eleena said as she tucked away her injector in a small panel on her armor.

Recalling the station layout Eleena visualized the route that they were taking. They still had a ways to go and she doubted that they would continue to have as smooth a time at taking prisoners. Almost as soon as they moved on Eleena received confirmation of her doubts. A number of other prisoners had been taken by the other teams but many of the batarians on the station seemed determined to fight to the death. 

Eleena and her team soon encountered much heavier resistance as they neared the security station. It was not that the fighting was not vicious, minor injuries had appeared on several of the agents with her, but it was not what Eleena had expected. 

The information that she had been given indicated that there were multiple SIU operatives working alongside Brathor. The resistance that the task force had encountered was not unintelligent but it lacked the higher thinking and outmaneuvering that the SIU had apparently been known for. If anything it seemed that the batarians defending the station were simply drawing out the confrontation as long as they could. It made Eleena worry as she wondered just what Brathor was waiting for and where he was.

After a particularly fierce firefight Eleena and her team finally entered the security office. Almost all of them now had dents and burns on their armor in addition to the already present minor injuries.

Looking around the office, one of the agents whistled and pointed to some exposed wiring on several consoles. It seemed that Shadow had been right and that there were additional explosives set up throughout the station.

Eleena nodded at the quarian on her team and he went to work at disarming the explosives. As he worked, Eleena began looking over the displays around the room. 

“Home one, Athena one-one. We’ve made it to the security office. We have station security cameras and GARDIAN displays here. Explosives have been wired into the consoles. We need to disarm before GARDIAN defenses can be taken down. Over.”

“Athena one-one, Home one. Roger that. Be advised, the fleet is pursuing Brathor’s ships which are falling back. You might be on your own for a while. Over.” 

Again Eleena wondered just what Brathor’s forces were doing. It did not make sense to her that they would just buy time like this unless they had some sort of goal in mind. “Home one, Athena one-one. Roger. We’ll do what we can to secure the station. Good hunting on your end. Out.”

Turning away from the GARDIAN display, Eleena looked at the quarian agent. “How are we doing, One-four?”

“Not there just yet. I recognize the configuration. It is not complex but it takes time to work around it.”

“Alright. Keep at it.” Eleena returned her attention to the security monitors. She could not adjust anything while the system was still rigged to explode but she could still watch the displays. “Delta, this is Athena. Do you read me? Over.”

“Athena, Delta. We read you. What is it? Over.”

“We have eyes. Be advised, you have seven hostiles setting up barricades in the room directly to your nine o’clock. Unfortunately the room is a dead end. No other way in for your team. Over.” 

“Roger that Athena. We’ll figure it out. Any other hostiles in the area? Over.”

"Negative Delta. No other hostiles in your immediate area. We’ll get back to you if anything changes. Over.”

“Roger. Delta out.”

Nodding at one of the humans with her, Eleena had them take over informing the other teams of what they could see on the monitors.

“Bomb’s disabled. You can access the systems now.” The quarian called from his position on the floor.

“Great work.” Eleena’s omni-tool glowed and she heard several tone cues from her friends. Most of them were uploading themselves into the station’s systems and trying to disable the GARDIAN lasers. “Alright. Working on turning those lasers off.”

It took a few moments for the geth to spread their software throughout the station’s various systems. Looking over at the displays, Eleena saw the GARDIAN lasers began altering their IFF programming to benefit the Sixth Fleet. “Nicely done.” she muttered quietly but loud enough for her friends to pick up. “Home one, Athena one-one. GARDIAN defenses are down. I say again, GARDIAN defenses are down. Over.”

“Athena one-one, Home one. Roger. We’ll try to get you marine reinforcements within the hour. Out.”

“Huh. Guess they’re busy chasing down that fleet. Looks like we’re on our own for a while.” Eleena said to the other agents.

“Hey, one-one. It looks like Kasira is in trouble.” One of the human agents called from the camera displays.

“Huntresses in trouble? What’s happening?” Eleena asked while quickly moving over to the display.

“They’ve made quick progress through the station. Hit their objectives before any of us but they’ve gotten bogged down. Heavy fire and numbers are against them now.”

“Damn.” Despite changes made to asari military doctrine after the reaper war they were still not made for frontline combat which made extended firefights extremely dangerous. “Where are the other teams? Can they move to assist?”

The agent shook their head and brought up camera footage of the other task force teams. “They’re dealing with their own problems. More explosives, breaching and clearing rooms.”

Eleena was going over her options when tones began filling her ear. She cocked her head and frowned but listened intently. “That'll have to do.” She said as she checked her weapons' thermal clips.

The human agent next to her gave Eleena a confused look. “Going somewhere?”

“Yeah. I’m going to relieve Kasira. One-two you’re in command here until I get back.”

Several agents all gave her incredulous looks. “Uh. With respect ma’am how are you going to relieve them on your own?”

Eleena nodded at the various displays and monitors. “Watch if you want just no writing it up in reports later.”

“Keeping secrets from the boss?” O’connor asked with a small smirk.

“I admit to no such thing.” Eleena made sure her friends were still coming in clear before turning and leaving the security office.

“Anyone else really curious as to how the hell she’s going to pull that off?” One of the humans asked.

“That’s what the security monitors are for.” O’connor said from her position in front of the monitors where she was already watching Eleena move through the station.

-

As soon as she had left the security office, Eleena had closed her eyes. Tone cues began to fill her implant and she responded by following her friends instructions.

Ever since the consensus had asked her to be an organic vessel for some of their systems she had trained to essentially allow her friends to use her as an organic platform. They had also been the ones to suggest integrating a geth scanner upgrade to her own visor. Unfortunately she was still working on the scanner. But she had found that having her own vision was often detrimental to following her friends directions.

It had been unnerving at first to just follow the tones cues from her friends. She had been concerned that without her eyes she would run into obstacles or simply be shot. But after a great deal of practice she now had complete confidence in her friends and they in her. So with her eyes closed, Eleena ran through the station towards the asari commandos.

It was not long before long Eleena started to hear gunfire. She was coming up on the asari and they certainly sounded outgunned.

Following what her friends were saying, Eleena leaned over and picked up what felt like a containment cell. “Ah. So that’s how you’ll make cover.” More tone cues filled her ear and she carefully warped the containment cell. The container slowly started to break apart and if Eleena was not following her friends instructions to the letter she probably would have thrown the container away from herself. Instead she continued moving while holding the disintegrating container in her hand.

Rounding a corner, Eleena could now hear the gunfire as if she was in the middle of the firefight. Her communication implant adjusted to filter out the gunfire so she could focus on her friends. “Kasira, this is Athena one-one. On my mark I need you to hold your fire. I'm going to be coming up on their right flank.”

“Roger that Athena!” The voice was shouted to come in above the sound of gunfire.

Slowing her pace she turned and a door she could not see but trusted was there opened up. “Kasira, cease fire!” The asari stopped firing and Eleena hurled the container out in front of herself before she took cover beside the door.

The containment cell exploded causing shouts from the batarians and asari alike. The air was suddenly filled with a thick cloud made of whatever had been in the container.

With her rifle in hand, Eleena reentered the room and began firing into the cloud. It would have looked random to anyone watching but each and every shot was precisely aimed after being calculated by her friends.

Shouts of anger and pain could be heard after each shot Eleena took. The sound of bodies hitting the floor could also be heard as Eleena fired into the cloud.

After only a few moments Eleena stopped and opened up her eyes again to examine the room. “Bit hard to see guys,” she muttered to her friends. “Mind clearing the air?”

An air conditioning system could be heard starting up and the thick cloud began to dissipate.

“Thanks you guys.” Eleena smiled as she received a sarcastic series of tones from her friends. “Yeah, yeah. Us organics would be completely helpless without you synthetics.” She then moved to start securing the batarians, all of whom were still alive but clutching at their now shot knees and shoulders. “We’re clear. Give me a hand with these guys.” She called over to the asari.

D’nari and her sisters walked over and surveyed Eleena’s handiwork. The youngest of the huntresses was watching her in disbelief. The others were more professional in their demeanor but it was obvious they now saw Eleena as being far more dangerous than they had previously thought.

Eleena nodded to the many batarians on the floor. “They need cuffs.”

D’nari nodded to the huntresses with her and they all set about securing the batarians. She then moved over to Eleena. “It seems that I have severely misjudged your abilities.”

“I’m nothing special. Just doing my job is all.” Eleena spoke casually as she dosed several prisoners to knock them unconscious.

A small frown appeared on D’nari’s face as she continued to watch Eleena.

Noticing that the huntress was still looking at her Eleena paused in dosing another of the batarian prisoners. “Can I help you, Captain?”

“I am simply considering how you managed this. Visibility was poor to say the least and you do not have any vision enhancements. So I am curious how you did this.” She waved a hand at the batarians and their very precise wounds.

Eleena continued working to secure all of the prisoners but actually considered answering the question. Finally she decided to give D’nari the truth, or a tiny of it. “You work with a team. You understand each other and function as a seamless unit or as close to one as you can.”

D’nari nodded at Eleena’s words. “That is true. We train and spend time together so that we can understand and even anticipate each other’s actions.”

“Figured as much. Well I do the same. I work with others so that we can function together seamlessly with complete trust in each other.”

“With other members of the task force?”

Eleena paused in her actions and did not look at D’nari. “Not exactly.”

That only made D’nari’s curiosity increase as she considered the implications. The only other people aboard the station, that she was aware of, were task force members and the batarians themselves. Who could T’soni have been working with then?

A smile spread across Eleena’s face as she watched the huntress think. “Putting some serious thought into this aren’t you?”

“Multiple individuals, based on your wording. Yet not affiliated with the task force. It does make one wonder just what you are involved in.”

“Nothing illegal or tied to any criminal cabals if that’s what you’re wondering.” Eleena straightened up from securing a final batarian. “Just friends that want to help out.”

“Hm.” D’nari was still considering who T’soni’s friends might be. A hacking collective? Such a group might have the ability to provide information in real time but then there was the issue of how T’soni received their information across the galaxy. Perhaps an artificial intelligence such as the geth? D’nari knew that T’soni’s father had made allies with geth and AIs in the past. Could Shepard’s daughter be doing the same thing? It would be dangerous if that was the case, no matter how accepted the geth consensus had become.

Watching T’soni, D’nari sighed. Putting her misgivings about AIs aside, T’soni had helped her and her sisters. So she would accept her help and not press the matter. “Well I suppose that I will simply have to accept that you know what you are doing. Also I would like to thank you for your assistance.”

“Appreciate that. And no problem.” Eleena said before getting a call over her comms. “Excuse me.” She turned away from the asari and surveyed the room as she answered. “One-two, one-one. Go ahead. Over.”

“One-one, one-two. Station has been secured. I say again, the station has been secured.”

“What?” Eleena asked in disbelief. “You’re sure about that? The whole station?”

“Yes ma’am. I’ve got cameras over the whole station. All batarians have been secured or killed.”

It did not make sense. None of it made sense. Brathor and the other SIU members with him had organized a coup against Barcob among other incredibly well planned and thought out operations. The defense of the station had not been up to that same standard. “Do you have numbers?”

“Ma’am?”

“Numbers. How many total batarians on the station?”

“I’ll get back to you ma’am.”

“Thanks.” Eleena saw D’nari giving her a quizzical look. “It was too easy. Sure it was drawn out but it wasn’t exactly difficult to take the station.”

“Not up to typical SIU standards.” D’nari nodded and understood where Eleena was going. “You do not think Brathor was aboard the station.”

Eleena shook her head. “No I don’t. We need to sweep the station again. See if we can find out where he and the other SIU operatives went.”

-

With only the strike teams aboard the station it took some time to account for all the batarians. Once they were all accounted for the numbers did not add up meaning that Brathor and the other former SIU operatives were not on the station. Eleena had then reassigned the strike teams to moving the prisoners to a cell block that the station had and to searching the rooms for any indication of what Brathor was planning.

As Eleena set about searching the station, she would begin interrogating the prisoners once the drugs she gave them wore off, she could not help but feel a sense of paranoia. Brathor could not have known about the task force’s arrival and yet his fleet had been hidden and apparently waiting to surprise the task force. Then there had been the actions of the batarians and fleet itself. Everything they had done, from the rigged explosives to simply falling back time and time again indicated they were buying time. But what were they buying time for?

Her mind went back to being ambushed by the Eclipse mercenaries on Omega. If Brathor had been behind that attack and also known about the assault on the station then was it possible that he had a source of information inside the task force? Could someone be helping him stay a few steps ahead? It was not a comforting thought and she hoped that Tilsa would hurry up on going through the Eclipse merc’s omni-tool.

“Assistant Director?” D’nari’s voice came through on her comms.

“Go ahead.”

“I think we may have found something. Transmitting our feed now.”

Looking at her omni-tool, Eleena watched as D’nari showed off a specialized fabricator and other devices that looked like they would be more at home in a tailor shop. “Looks like some sort of fabricator.”

“That is correct. As far as we can tell it appears to be designed to manufacture armor pieces. The rest of these seem to be for creating uniforms.”

“Uniforms? Anything left of them?”

“Only a little bit is still here.” D’nari adjusted the feed to show several pieces of armor and clothing that her team had recovered. “It seems that they were in the process of destroying them when we arrived on the station.”

Not quite enough warning to destroy everything. “Pretty badly damaged. Can you focus in on that pauldron?”

“Better?” D’nari asked as she adjusted her camera.

Eleena had a sinking feeling that she was running out of time as she examined the armor. “Yeah, that’s better.” Her frown deepened as she made out some of the details. “That looks like Confederation colors and design, internal security.”

“Impersonating security officers would allow Brathor and others to get close to Dholla Barcob or other Confederation officials.”

“Yeah, it would. I need to check something. Let me know if you find anything else.”

“Of course.” D’nari responded before cutting off her feed.

Tapping her comms implant, Eleena called up her friends. “Any progress, going through their files?”

A series of rather frustrated tones came through to Eleena.

“Yeah I know they went and wiped a lot of their files before we got here. Have you found anything though? Specifically, have you found anything relating to Confederation internal security?”

There was a pause before tones began filling Eleena’s ear again.

“Partial clearance codes. Not good.” Eleena added informing the Confederation on the need to change their codes to her list of tasks when her friends spoke again and made her pause. “They’re expiring in a week? You’re sure?”

Her friends confirmed. They explained that before traveling through the relay they had synced in with the Consensus’ information giving access to the current scheduled rotation of codes.

Eleena frowned as she knew that the confirmation for Dholla Barcob was not for another month. If Brathor was planning an attack with these codes then it was a different target and it was imminent. “Pull up Barcob’s schedule then. I’m assuming the Consensus gave you guys that information too.”

The terminal in front of Eleena flashed and information began popping up.

“Thought so.” Taking a seat, Eleena scanned through the soon to be councilor’s planned schedule. “A lot of speeches. Some charity work.” Eleena was muttering to herself as she went through everything. She was impressed at the absolutely packed schedule Barcob had. Almost every day had her jumping from one planet to another.

Going through the list of events did not immediately cause her to become alarmed so she went through it again and tried to look at it through Brathor’s eyes. What was Brathor after? A statement for the Hegemony. How would he do that? Assassinating the first Confederation councilor and the supporters with her. Was the assassination of Barcob alone enough of a statement? Maybe. Would he actually want to make a statement? Maybe he would simply conduct a quiet assassination? No. He had gathered all of these resources for a reason. Yes, he had sacrificed the station and fleet but his initial plans would likely still influence his current thoughts.

Eleena’s eyes narrowed on a single event’s location. Elysium. She recalled from her history lessons that the planet had been significant to humans during their expansion into the Skyllian Verge. Her father had also made a name for herself there during a major pirate attack. She vaguely remembered that events after that attack had led to increased tensions between the Hegemony and the Systems Alliance. A successful attack there would be both a blow to the Confederation and to the humans that supported the new government.

Double checking the dates of the Elysium event made Eleena’s heart skip a beat. The unity speech was going to occur within the next galactic day. She was running out of time, if that was Brathor’s target. But she still needed more evidence besides hunches. “Titan, you guys still in the cellblock?”

“Yes, ma’am. We were about to call you, actually. Some of them are up and we have been questioning them.” Came the response from the team’s leader.  

“Good. Keep up with your interrogations. I’ll be right there.” Eleena quickly made her way through the station to the makeshift interrogation rooms. There were plenty of prisoners. The strike teams had made sure that all the prisoners were isolated and unable to communicate with one another, so Eleena could afford a misstep here and there without it getting back to all of them.

Arriving at the cellblock, Eleena went right into questioning some of the prisoners. It was slow work. She was aware of how many species saw asari as sexual objects and could see that the first few batarians she questioned shared those views. There was no fear or respect for her which made things difficult. So she passed them on to other agents that were skilled in interrogations.

If she had not been concerned about the task force’s public image she might have entertained the thought of forcibly melding with the prisoners and ripping the information she needed from their minds. However the task force needed to maintain its successful and law abiding image if they wanted to maintain their widespread jurisdiction and resources. So Eleena decided to take a different approach with the next prisoner. Bluffing outright.

The next batarian immediately appeared to have a similar view of Eleena as the others. He scoffed as he was sat down in front of her. “This is what the mighty task force sends to question us? A blue whore? You might be more useful in the cells with us. I hear that asari are quite flexible.”

Eleena merely shrugged and continued to go through a data pad in an uninterested way. “Well since I’m here that should tell you something about where all the important people are.”

“Busy making the galaxy a better place?” He asked, mockingly.

“Something like that.” Eleena looked over the edge of her data pad at the batarian and chuckled. “Will probably be a better place since we caught up to Brathor and his SIU buddies. All the important people are questioning them right now. I’m just here to watch all of you guys until charges are filed.”

The batarian did not move which was quite telling in itself. Batarians were often quite expressive in their body language. Sure they might be more subtle with their body language than say a human’s, a result of of their four eyes, but it was still easy enough for Eleena to read. This batarian’s deliberate attempt to not react told Eleena that he was trying to hide something.

“Yeah I’d probably stay silent too if everything I’d worked for suddenly amounted to nothing.” Eleena appeared to return her attention to her data pad to let the batarian stew for a while. She saw that he was still trying not to give anything away but it was obvious that he was doing some serious thinking. Most likely, he was trying to determine if Eleena was telling the truth or just trying to make him give something away.

Eleena left the batarian alone with his thoughts for a while before doing anything else. She put on a wide smile and laughed which made the batarian fix his attention on her. “It was pretty funny actually when Brathor was caught. See we were panicking, we thought that he was going to somehow outsmart us and kill Barcob and everyone around her.”

The jaw of the batarian prisoner clenched slightly and his chest began to rise and fall in a way that indicated he was agitated.

Noticing the prisoner’s reactions Eleena tried to press him enough to actually get him angry. “Thankfully he isn’t nearly as smart as we thought. Guess he was out of practice since I hear SIU used to be some real dangerous guys. But then maybe that was all just Hegemony propaganda.”

Eleena had been depending on most of the batarians that followed Brathor to all be hardline supporters of the Hegemony. This particular batarian seemed to be just that, a true believer in what the Hegemony had been. Thankfully he was not a trained SIU agent but a typical member of the old batarian military. His anger at her words was now apparent and Eleena had the distinct impression that he was imagining smashing her face against a wall.

“I mean it’s not like the Hegemony ever had a real military after all. Sure that was all before my time but reading through history it looks like you couldn’t even deal with humanity when they started showing up. So I guess it was a good thing that the old council sided with the humans and not you guys.” Eleena was watching the batarian closely while also keeping an eye on her data pad which was keeping track of his vitals. While courts still debated on the use of biometric data as evidence she could still reliably use it to gather information for herself.

The batarian was fairly close to outright pulling at his restraints in an attempt to get at Eleena. His muscles were flexing and his expression had turned angry. “You don’t know anything, whore.”

Looking at both his vitals and his physical reactions, Eleena had no doubt that he was truly angry with her. That made it less likely that he would be able to fool her with a lie. “I don’t know. I think I know a lot actually. I mean Elysium? Seriously?” She dangled the name of the planet in the hopes of getting a reaction about Brathor’s current plans. Fortunately it was the same location as the Blitz which she recalled had been a failure as well.

For a moment the batarian prisoner seemed to deflate in defeat. He had taken the mention of Elysium as confirmation that Eleena and the task force had indeed learned of Brathor’s plans and had intercepted him. His feeling of loss quickly turned to anger and he looked up and spat in Eleena’s face. “Enjoy your victory then,” he snarled.

As calmly as she could, Eleena wiped her face clean. She was thrilled at the unintentional admission but was not going to let the batarian know that. What she needed now was to confirm it with another prisoner. Not wanting to waste time, she quickly wrapped up her interview and went to observe another of the interrogations.

Eleena watched the other interrogation from a camera feed after being told that nothing about Brathor had yet come up. Not wanting to interrupt what the agent was doing, Eleena connected to the agent’s comm implant. “It’s T’soni. Try asking them about Elysium.”

The agent continued with his previous line of questioning before broaching the topic. “So tell me about Elysium. Those must have been big plans.”

This batarian did not deflate or become angry as the one Eleena had questioned had but their body language did convey shock and their vitals all spiked at the mention of Elysium. “How did you know?”

“I’m sure you know that I can’t tell you how we found out about that.” The agent continued to speak in a level voice but was sure to put down notes on his own data pad.

“That fucking contact,” the batatrian muttered. “They sold us out, didn’t they?”

Shrugging, the agent started to casually tap at his data pad as he continued with his questions.

Eleena’s own data pad flashed and she looked at the message from the agent. _What contact?_

Frowning, Eleena typed back a reply. _I don’t know. Try to find out more if you can. I need to call Caeldros._

Eleena had a bad feeling about whoever this contact was. After Elysium was secured she would have to look into that. She also wanted to speak with Tilsa again as she suspected that whoever gave up her location on Omega was either Brathor’s contact or someone that would know his contact.

Leaving the cellblock, Eleena contacted the SSV Denali. “Dina, you there?”

Dina Hassan answered almost immediately. “Yes ma’am. What do you need?”

“Get me a secure QEC link back to the Citadel. I need to talk to Caeldros now.”

* * *

 

- **Elysium**

Karek Brathor looked over Elysium. Most worlds were still in the process of rebuilding after the war with the reapers. Elysium had been one of those worlds that received a great deal of attention and aid in the early post war years. The result of that attention was that the majority of the planet had been rebuilt with many human and other species were now living comfortably. The skyline and city itself was beautiful to look at. He might hate what the Systems Alliance had done to the Hegemony but he could still appreciate what they had built.

It was not long before Branya came up behind him. “What have you heard?”

“The task force has taken the station.”

Karek nodded. “As we knew they would. But they bought us the time necessary to get here.” He took another look out at the city before turning to face his second in command and longtime friend. “What else?”

“Our contact says that T’soni contacted the task force with information about a possible threat to Elysium.” Branya maintained a professional demeanor but could not quite keep a note of disapproval from her voice.

Smiling sympathetically at Branya’s disapproving tone, Karek gave her shoulder a clap. “I know you don’t approve of those we have allied with.”

Branya sighed and shook her head. “It is not that I disapprove. I know only too well that we need to intelligence that they can provide. I just do not trust them. They have their own agenda and reasons for supporting us.”

“Yes they do.” Karek was fully aware that those he was working with had their own plans. “It is likely that they will do everything that they can to tie up loose ends after we are done here.”

Looking at her friend, Branya suddenly felt tired. It was not as if she was young. She was in her sixties. Hard work and technology had allowed her to keep going as if she was thirty but she, Karek and the others were old. Being so close to their end goal made her feel her age for the first time in years. “We knew that that was a risk when we first began to take their intelligence. Of course we all know that it is likely that they will not get the chance.”

“A normal hazard with what we do,” Karek agreed. He paused and took another look out the windows. After almost four decades he finally felt a certain amount of peace. One way or another, he would soon be with his family again. “We should go. If the task force learned of Elysium then we do not have much time.”

Branya nodded and walked with Karek to where the other former SIU operatives were already getting ready. Their plans had been adjusted numerous times thanks to the task force. The loss of the fleet in particular had been a significant blow but after discussing their options the fifteen of them had agreed that they could still destroy the Confederation. They simply had to change their target.

- **Elysium: Temporary residence of Christopher Hunley, Systems Alliance Ambassador to the Confederation**

Ambassador Hunley had had a long day. He had been dealing with constituents that still did not approve of the political relationship between the Alliance and Confederation. Despite his attempts at placating those constituents there was still a great deal of bad blood between humans and batarians in the post war galaxy.

Immediately after the war the feeling of unity had been enough to push through the Batarian Recovery Program to help some of their worlds rebuild. Now that the war was over forty years ago old feelings of hatred were beginning to crop up again. Most humans would accept the Confederation getting their own councilor on the new galactic council as even the Raloi had a councilor to represent them on the galactic stage. What many of the ambassador’s constituents were angry about was the Treaty of London.

The Treaty allowed for military and intelligence organizations to share and make requests for information from other species. It was a way to pool their information with each other and help to keep everyone on an even playing field. Although many humans were eager to leave the past in the past enough still flet animosity towards batarians and did not want them to have access to the information the Treaty of London would provide.

Hunley was pouring himself a drink when he thought he heard something from another of the rooms. Assuming that it was one of his security team or a staffer coming to speak with him, he walked over to see who it was.

The Ambassador did not have time to register anything in the room before his lifeless body hit the floor.

 


	6. Chapter 6

_“The murder of Ambassador Hunley has sparked outrage amongst many Alliance citizens, most of whom have been vocal in their opposition to closer ties with the Batarian Confederation. While information is still coming in sources have confirmed that Alliance Fleets have begun mobilizing along the border to Confederation space. Whether this is a sign of pending military action or saber rattling has yet to be determined.”_

* * *

- **Citadel**

Eleena had made her way back to the Citadel and the task force headquarters. While the initial reports about the death of Ambassador Hunley had not been clear on details, things had immediately begun to deteriorate once more information was learned.

Batarians had been responsible for the death of the ambassador. That alone might not have been enough to kill the peace that had been built between humans and batarians. But then the task force learned that the Alliance investigators had apparently found evidence implicating members of Barcob’s administration as being responsible for the hit.

Both Eleena and Caeldros wanted very much wanted to send their own people to verify the evidence but since Hunley’s death Elysium had been completely locked down by the Alliance. They also knew that being a multi species organization the Alliance would not allow any representative to examine the evidence.

With fleets now lining the border of Confederation space, Eleena could only hope that things would not escalate from there. She was painfully aware of the batarians dwindling numbers as a species. Ever since the war with the reapers the batarian population had been devastated. While those numbers might be slowly increasing once again it was obvious to anyone that any military action would put the batarian species on the very real path to extinction.

The possibility of the batarians going extinct was weighing heavily on her mind as Eleena sat with Caeldros and Jarin Arlana. The two other assistant directors, another turian by the name of Virina Malcus and a quarian Zal’Lirol vas Rannoch, were also present via secure QEC links. She had given her report of the SIU station to them all and had explained her belief that Karek Brathor had been responsible for Hunley’s murder.

After going over everything that Eleena had learned of Brathor, Caeldros and Zal’Lirol had agreed that he was the likely culprit behind that attack. Arlana had been more skeptical. He wanted more data before he could agree that it had been Brathor. Virina Malcus was inclined to agree that Brathor was responsible but expressed a desire to examine the evidence that the Alliance had found.

“I would also like to view the evidence the Alliance has found. Unfortunately the they won’t be letting anyone touch that evidence. They will be far too concerned that an outside organization or species would attempt to tamper with it.” Caeldros spoke in a slightly frustrated voice and his missing mandible twitched in annoyance.

“So long as things do not escalate. A war between the Alliance and the Confederation would be devastating for the batarians.” Zal’Lirol was also aware of just how few batarians there really were in the galaxy.

“While that would be tragic it is not what we here must be concerned about.” Arlana had pulled up a list of names for the others to look at. “Currently just under thirty percent of our field operatives are humans as are seventeen percent of our analysts and communications specialists. We must prepare for the possibility that these individuals may undermine our own efforts at preventing attacks against batarian targets.”

Eleena angrly shook her head. “We can’t just profile our own agents on the basis of their species.”

“Not all of us are as separated from our own species as you are T’soni,” Arlana replied.

Caeldros looked to his other two assistant directors, seeking their views on the matter.

Virina’s mandibles fluttered slightly as she thought. “We cannot ignore the possibility that some individuals may feel anger at the ambassador’s death. However removing thirty percent of our field operatives would be a mistake. We would not have the personnel necessary to operate effectively.”

Zal’Lirol nodded in agreement. “We cannot afford to lose so many of our agents at a time like this. However I must also agree with Arlana. The majority of people in the galaxy do have a strong link to their own species. I know that most of our agents joined specifically because they wished to serve the galaxy at large but we cannot ignore the very real possibility that some may have stronger links to their own species than to the task force.”

Though she did not want to, Eleena was forced to admit that some of their human agents would likely be sympathetic to the current situation the Alliance was in. And as a result they would likely not perform to the best of their abilities with threats to the Confederation. “We still can’t just have blanket restrictions placed on all humans. Identify those agents with the greatest sympathies to the Alliance and reassign them if necessary.”

Caeldros looked to Arlana. “We also need to keep this quiet. Can you put together an algorithm to identify those with the greatest sympathies to the Alliance?”

“Easily. Give me a few hours and I should have names for you.”

“Do it.”

Standing, Arlana left the room to work on his new task.

“In the meantime we need to try to keep things from escalating. Identify and work up threat assessments on Confederation targets that human and Alliance sympathizers might target.”

Zal’Lirol and Virina Malcus nodded before their QEC transmissions ended.

Eleena was about to leave when Caeldros stopped her. “Sir?”

“I need you to stay on Brathor. He’s the key to this. If we can find him we have a chance to prove that the Confederation was not behind the ambassador’s death.”

“I agree but I’m out of leads and the Alliance isn’t going to let me land on Elysium.”

Caeldros’ mandibles moved sympathetically. “I know that there is not much to go on but you’re resourceful. Stay on Brathor. In the meantime I will try to deal with our other problem.”

“Brathor’s contact.” Eleena had shared her suspicions with Caeldros about a possible mole in the task force while still on the SIU space station. They had then agreed to keep those suspicions between the two of them and had not shared them with the other assistant directors.

“Yes. You said that Ronoka Tilsa was working on something for you?”

Eleena thought of the eclipse commandos that had attacked her on Omega and the encryption that she had recovered. “Someone must’ve been tracking and sending out information on my movements. I recovered an encryption while on Omega and I was hoping Tilsa could see if anyone else has come across it before. It might give us a lead on Brathor’s contact.”

“Alright. I’ll make sure that she has the resources she needs.”

“Thanks.” Eleena was turning to leave when she let out a dark laugh. “Looks like you were right about the Executor’s information being more than we bargained for.”

“And I still wish that I had been wrong.” Caeldros nodded to Eleena in dismissal. “Good luck.”

-

Although Tilsa had not contacted her with any findings Eleena still checked in on her. The salarian had been in a good mood. Eleena was initially surprised as Tilsa had not made a great deal of progress but then chided herself. Tilsa thrived on challenges so if something was proving difficult then it would only improve her mood.

“Never doubted that you would be better than Arlana and give me something exciting to look at.” Tilsa said to her.

Eleena merely rolled her eyes and did not comment on Tilsa’s previous threat of blackmail. “Has anyone else ever seen this before?”

“No one that I’ve spoken to.” Tilsa cocked her head. “Actually I thought that I had been making progress on recognizing and maybe breaking the encryption earlier but it didn’t work out.”

“What was your line of thought?”

Tilsa spun in her chair around as she spoke. “Hard to explain the details so I’ll spare you those. Put simply I thought that I recognized a pattern in the encryption.”

“Recognized it from where?”

A guilty smile spread across Tilsa’s face and she did not quite meet Eleena’s gaze.

“Tilsa?” Eleena was not in the mood for her friend’s dramatics. “Where did you think you recognized it from?”

Raising her hands in a sign of surrender, Tilsa started talking. “Before I left Sur’Kesh I came across… communications.”

Eleena started to frown. “The encryption looked like something your dalatrass had received?”

“A part of it did, yes. But while the encryption itself might have had people having similar ways of thinking behind them they wasn’t the same. It also hasn’t matched up with anything that I know the dalatrasses are currently using.”

Privately, Eleena did not think that that meant much. The salarians were constantly developing new and better technologies and encryptions. “Alright. Keep on it. Caeldros should get you anything if you need more resources.”

“Thanks T’soni. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

-

Eleena was at a loss for what to do. With Brathor in custody she could have made a case that the evidence the Alliance found had been planted. Without Brathor in custody she had nothing expect rising tensions between the Alliance and the Confederation.

What she needed was a way to get to Elysium and try to find any trail that Brathor and his people might have left. Unfortunately she was not human or a high ranking Alliance official so she would never get anywhere near the crime scene where ambassador Hunley had been killed.

Another problem she had was that those task force agents that might have been able to get her close to Elysium were now being vetted by Arlana for possible sympathies to the Alliance’s current situation. So she could not rely on task force assistance in getting closer to the Alliance’s evidence.

She might be able to ask her friends to travel to Elysium but she doubted that the Consensus would want to risk being caught in the middle of a potential flashpoint.

Unsure of how the proceed, Eleena left the task force’s headquarters and headed towards Kithoi Ward. Since she took the job as one of the task force’s assistant directors Eleena had developed the habit of going to the citadel archives to think.

As she entered the archives Eleena felt thankful that after the war with the reapers policy regarding the archives had changed along with the council itself. Previously she likely would not have been allowed access as that was only for archive staff, council officials and spectres. Now that access had been expanded to top task force and C-Sec officials along with a select number of others Eleena could access the archives without issue.

Deciding to stay on topic, Eleena made her way towards recent history with the old batarian Hegemony. She took a seat at a terminal and began to go through the rather sordid history of the Hegemony and its actions.

It was fascinating to see all of the information that the previous citadel council had gathered. There was a great deal that she had never seen before, actual evidence of the Hegemony secretly funding terrorist attacks as well as slave and pirate raids. Such information would have been coveted by the Alliance but was most likely kept secret in order to prevent a full scale war between the Alliance and Hegemony. It was not lost on Eleena how the apparent discovery of similar information had now led to the potential of a war between the Alliance and Confederation.

Eleena moved on and eventually come across citadel reports about the Skyllian Blitz. That was an event that the council had not had prior warning about. It seemed that the pirates the Hegemony had supported actually managed to keep their assault a secret. Ever since that attack Elysium had been given a substantial defense force to defend it from future attacks.

Going through the various pages of the event Eleena found that several reports had been put together by a Nihlus Kryik. He had been quite critical of the Alliance’s planetary defenses and observed numerous weaknesses in their initial defense of the colony. However he had been very appreciative of the efforts of a single Alliance marine. Eleena had not immediately recognized who this Nihlus was talking about until she saw that there was a spectre recommendation attached to the report.

Ah.

So, Nihlus Kryik had been responsible for recommending Eleena’s father for the spectres.

Eleena leaned back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling. Claire Shepard had been responsible for almost single handedly holding the line on the ground during the Blitz. It had made her a hero in the eyes of many in the Alliance. Eleena wondered what those people might think if they knew that Shepard’s later actions were also partly responsible for the death of ambassador Hunley and the current build up of forces along the Confederation and Alliance border.

She was about to turn her gaze back to her terminal when something caught Eleena’s eye. Frowning slightly, she stood and took a few steps away from her terminal to take a better look at the ceiling. It looked like a burn that one might see as a result of weapons fire. Using her omni-tool, Eleena took a scan of the burn and found that it was indeed the result of a weapons fire.

It took a moment before Eleena realized where the burn must have come from. There had been strange rumors and conflicting news reports about her father several years before Eleena had been born. Though many were dismissed as being tabloid coverage of Shepard, Eleena had looked into those rumors herself while at C-Sec.

What Eleena had learned seemed ridiculous but then the idea of the reapers had also seemed rather ridiculous. Cerberus had created a clone of her father and that clone had tried to assume her father’s identity during the war. There had been firefights across the citadel including here in the archives.

After choosing to look further into what had happened, Eleena discovered that the clone had in fact survived the attempt to steal Shepard’s identity. While Eleena was not able to learn the reasoning as to why, she had found that the clone had begun working as a sort of bounty hunter. Though the clone did indeed hunt down some unsavory types for their bounties she had also done a great deal to find people that had been displaced by the war. Eleena had found that the vast majority of jobs the clone had done seemed to be more about uniting people with lost family and loved ones.

Seeing that the clone did not seem to pose any threat to anyone and was actually doing a substantial amount of good, Eleena had kept her findings to herself. She was not sure where the clone was now but Eleena still heard the odd story here and there about how Commander Shepard had supposedly reunited this or that family or had tracked down a criminal and delivered them to the authorities.

Eleena had sat back down at her terminal and was idly moving through more reports on Elysium when she paused. She smiled as she thought of a way to get to Elysium and perhaps Brathor without using the task force and its resources.

As she left the archives, Eleena made a call that her geth friends kept secure. “Hey, it’s me. Yeah. I need two favors.”

* * *

 

**-Illium**

The market was packed with business types from all sorts of corporations. Everyone was going about their business either buying or selling goods but more often than not watching what others were buying and selling. Information on how markets might move depending on the mood of actual people was still critical for these corporations’ profits. That was why, despite the ubiquitous presence of VIs for electronic trading, there were still people that actually examined markets and the mood that others had about various products and businesses.

With a large interest in their own work and so many people around watching the screens, most people did not actually notice the physical actions of others. Which made it easy for a nondescript human woman to walk through the crowds and pour something into another human’s drink.

For some time nothing happened. The woman vanished from the market and business continued on. It was only after almost half an hour before the human began to sweat rather profusely. Obviously annoyed the human tried to ignore the discomfort but eventually had to leave the market and make his way to a washroom.

Splashing his face with cold water the man tried to pull himself together and determine what it was that he might have eaten that made him feel so bad. Nothing came to his mind so he simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a stim.

He was about to take it when the same nondescript woman came up behind him and stuck a needle into his neck. He attempted to struggle but found himself sagging against her and falling into unconsciousness.

The woman’s face was expressionless as she carried the man out of the washroom and towards the docks. She occasionally shook her head and muttered about an overuse of stimulants, when people looked questioningly at her. Fortunately stimulant overuse was an occurrence so common that no one thought twice about her explanation and simply let her continue on her way.

After reaching the docks without any trouble, the woman smiled as she looked up at her ship, the Osiris. It had been a decommissioned Alliance corvette, named the Slayton, before she had bought it and made it her own. Rather than the usual crew of ten, she could now control the Osiris herself with only the help of a VI.

Boarding the Osiris, the woman vaguely wondered if her love of the ship might be genetic. She doubted it but it was an amusing thought.

Going to a makeshift cell she had set up, she secured the man for transport. She then looked up as an artificial voice began speaking through the ship’s intercom.

“Good day. Shall I inform the authorities that you have recovered Mr. Samuels?” An artificial and feminine voice asked.

“Go ahead, Alice. Also let them know that I’ll drop him off within the next standard day.”

“Very well. You also have new messages at your terminal.”

“Thanks, Alice.”

“Of course.”

Walking through the Osiris to the bathroom, the woman let out a tired sigh. She had been on Illium longer than she had anticipated. It had turned out that Mr. Samuels was actually quite clever and hid himself well. His cleverness had not helped him in the end but it had made her job harder. Rolling her shoulders the woman figured that as long as she was paid she could deal with feeling tired.

Her mind focused on the bounty that Samuels would bring her. It would be enough so  she could work on her own jobs for quite a while without dipping into the substantial savings that she had amassed.

Once in the bathroom she pulled off a wig and a few prosthetics from her face. While she was confident in her ability to move about unnoticed it still never hurt to keep her face hidden, especially when it was rather distinctive.

Looking into the mirror the woman stared at the face of Commander Shepard.

For years that face had haunted her thoughts and dreams. She had been led to believe that she was superior to the original and that she could take on the true role of Shepard in order to save humanity.

Those beliefs had been shaped by lies.

Maya Brooks, or whatever her name was, had used her. Before that the Illusive Man had used her. Her entire existence had been so that others could use her, harvest her for parts.

She noticed that her knuckles had gone white as her hands gripped the sink. The old anger still hit her whenever she thought of how she had been made- no. Her eyes closed and she took several calming breaths. No. She had not been made, she had been born. She had been born, just like any other sentient being. She was not just some project that someone put together to discard later. She was a person.

Opening her eyes, she looked at herself in the mirror. “My name is Nyssa and I am my own person.”

Letting out a breath, Nyssa turned away from the mirror and showered. She knew that words like ‘made’ and ‘born’ were just words but the right words made her feel like an actual person. So she used words like ‘born’ in order to keep herself from doubting herself.

After finishing her shower and putting on some fresh clothes, Nyssa took a seat at her terminal. Several new messages had indeed come in for her, not that she doubted her VI Alice. Most were from families she had helped to reunite after the war.

A genuine smile spread across her face as she read through those thank you messages. For years she had tried to develop emotional connections and learn typical emotional responses. Helping people like the ones that left her messages had been a large part of her emotional education.

Despite being rather warm from her shower Nyssa shivered slightly as she remembered how she had been before she started learning things for herself.

In the final months of and immediately after the war she had been completely and utterly lost. The only person she had ever really known, Brooks, had abandoned her. With nothing left she had made the first real decision of her life. She had chosen to die. But she had survived the fall from the Normandy’s cargo ramp and somehow had to find a way to move forward.

Moving forward had not been easy. While the beliefs that she had had been shaken to the core, thanks to Brooks’ desertion, she still had deep seeded anti-alien and human supremacist sentiments. It had taken some time to start thinking for herself and making her own set of beliefs.

Nyssa remembered the first time those old beliefs had truly been challenged. It had been several weeks after her failed attempt to take over Shepard’s life. She had been severely injured after the fall from the Normandy but had managed to hide out in the lower wards of the citadel. It was there, as she fought to stay alive, that a small asari child had found her. Nyssa had been a complete mess at the time, barely holding together and considering just ending it all. But that child had seen her and after initially running off had come back with a doctor that ran a clinic in the wards.

The doctor, a human, had helped Nyssa return to a relatively healthy state of being. As she recovered the doctor had said it was lucky the asari child had found her when she did as Nyssa would have died without any medical treatment. That had not been surprising to Nyssa. Her flash education from Brooks included a vast amount of medical knowledge. What had puzzled her was why the child had helped her. She had asked the doctor and his answer had only puzzled her further.

_Because she saw you needed help._

The selflessness of the alien child’s actions had stayed with Nyssa for years as she worked to develop her own identity.

Looking at the other thank you messages, Nyssa again considered trying to find that small child. She wanted to say thank you but she worried that if she looked for the child that she might learn that the child had died during the reaper invasion of the citadel or had died as a result of living in the wards. It was cowardice on Nyssa’s part. She should look into the child but she was just too scared about the possibilities of what she might learn.

Sighing, Nyssa told Alice to remind her to look into the child after the next job, whatever that job might be.

Going through the other messages relating to possible jobs, one caught Nyssa’s eye. “Nyna T’loak? What does the Princess of Omega want?”

_From: Nyna T’loak_

_Subject: An introduction_

_Hello Nyssa. I believe that is the name you prefer. Someone I know has been hoping to talk with you about a job. She is reliable but you can speak with her and determine that for yourself._

Attached was contact information to whoever it was that wanted to speak with Nyssa.

Nyssa was curious but also cautious about someone that could go through Nyna T’loak as a middleman. They would likely be dangerous and people like that were best avoided when possible. Still the T’loaks were not known for cheating people when it came to business. They honored their word. So if Nyna T’loak vouched for this person then they could probably be relied on to honor whatever agreement they and Nyssa came up with.

Making up her mind, Nyssa typed out a message rather than making a vidcall. She wanted to meet and speak with this person face to face before she agreed to anything.

“Alice?”

“What can I do for you?” the VI responded.

“Prep for take off. We’re going to drop off Samuels and then we’re going to Omega.”

“Very well. You have also asked me to remind you to contact Miss Marana the next time you visited Omega.”

A faint blush actually appeared on Nyssa’s face as she thought of the former Alliance sniper she had befriended and grown close to. “Thanks for the reminder Alice.”

While making her way to the cockpit Nyssa's mind drifted to the last time she had spent a few days with Renee Marana. Her blush only worsened as she remembered the things they had done together or more accurately what Renee had done to her.

As the Osiris left Illium Nyssa thought that after listening to the job offer it couldn’t hurt to spend a few hours or perhaps a weekend with her friend. Besides, what was the point in still being alive if she wasn’t actually living?

* * *

 

**-Omega**

Eleena was sitting in a private room in Afterlife. It was a side benefit of being good friends with Nyna and tolerated by Aria. It also had the side effect of reminding her that she now owed Nyna, and by extension Aria, two favors.

Looking around she could see multiple places where surveillance devices were probably located. At another time that would have bothered her but Eleena knew that Aria wanted to have those two favors in her pocket. So Eleena did not worry about Aria using the information discussed against her in some way.

It took a while but eventually someone joined her in the room, unfortunately it was not who Eleena was hoping to meet. “Nyna,” Eleena said with a nod.

“Hey Eleena.” Nyna took a seat next to her friend. “Two things. First is that I really hope you know what you’re doing making that deal. You might have to pay more than you’d want with just one let alone two blank favors.”

Eleena had to admit that she was slightly concerned about what Aria might one day ask of her. But if she did not do something then there was the possibility of a war breaking out which would almost certainly lead to the batarians becoming an endangered species. “Yeah I know. Problem is that the stakes I’m dealing with justify owing your father a favor. I just hope that my proposal gets accepted. Otherwise I’m back at having no options and I’ll owe your father a favor for nothing.”

Nyna nodded. She knew that Eleena dealt with a lot in counter terrorism that Nyna herself would not want to. There were often too many difficult choices involved that Nyna would prefer not to think about. “Well I guess the good thing is that my father knows how skilled you are so she won’t want to lose a potential resource by having you do something insane.”

“Yeah that’s what I was hoping. Too valuable a tool to just throw away.”

“Something like that. Number two thing is that he agreed to work with you.” Nyna’s omni-tool glowed for a moment as she sent a message to Eleena. “His contact info. Just call and he’ll be there.”

Eleena smiled gratefully at her friend. “Thanks, Nyna. I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

Nyna returned Eleena’s smile. “What are friends for?”

Chuckling, Eleena shrugged. “I dunno. For you friends are usually there so you can tie them up.”

“Hey now.” Nyna dug a finger into Eleena’s side, making her jerk. “For one I have friends that I don’t tie up. And two you have always enjoyed being tied up by me.”

“Guilty.” Eleena said as she poked Nyna in her own side. “That stuff aside how have you been doing?”

“Can’t complain.” Nyna responded while rubbing her side. “I’m making a name for myself as more than just the daughter of Aria T’loak. So people are actually respecting me for me.”

Eleena could hear a note of pride and also relief in Nyna’s voice. For years Nyna, like Eleena, had dealt with a fair amount of depression due to her parentage. To see Nyna actually being satisfied with herself was comforting. “I’m glad things are going well. I know that things haven’t always been easy for you.”

Nyna let out a bark of laughter. “You should talk. My father might have had control of Omega for centuries but your father is the savior of the galaxy. Kinda hard to live up to that.” While Nyna spoke in a teasing voice she could not help but glance down at Eleena’s thighs, where she knew that there were still faint scars. “Have you spoken with her recently? Your father?”

After letting out a long breath, Eleena shook her head. “Not since Janiris.”

“That was almost four months ago, Lee.”

Eleena groaned and slumped back in her seat. “I know. Samara has also sent me messages about talking more with my father, more with both my parents actually.”

“Going to listen to her?” Nyna was sympathetic and could relate to Eleena having difficulties talking with her parents. That common ground was part of why they had become friends. But Nyna was still worried that Eleena might continue to put off repairing her relationship with her father.

“I probably should.” Eleena was not looking at Nyna and was instead tracing random shapes on the table. Her mind was on the current mess she was having to deal with between the Alliance and Confederation. She knew that her father could not have foreseen this as a result of past choices but the current situation along with a childhood of resentment still made her reluctant to speak with Shepard. “I’ll try to talk with her after I finish with what I’m doing for the task force.”

Nyna gave Eleena’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. “I think that’ll be a good idea.” She was about to ask if Eleena had thought through meeting the person that was genetically identical to her father when Nyssa walked into the room.

Pausing in the doorway, Nyssa took in the scene before her. Nyna T’loak and another asari were sitting together. Nyna appeared to be offering comfort to her companion. Nyssa blinked as her gaze focused on the other asari. For the briefest of moments she had believed that the other asari was the child that had saved her on the citadel. But she quickly realized that that was not the case. Still, the actual identity of Nyna’s companion was perhaps even more surprising. Unless Nyssa was very much mistaken, the other asari was Eleena T’soni.

Looking up at the person that had just entered the room, Eleena could not help but stiffen slightly. While her hairstyle and clothing were different the woman in front of her was almost an exact copy of Eleena’s father.

Nyna felt Eleena stiffen and again squeezed her shoulder. “Want me to stay?” she asked quietly.

Taking a breath Eleena shook her head. “Thanks. But I’m alright. Just a bit jarring is all.”

“Alright then. Call me if you need anything.” Nyna gave Eleena a final smile before leaving the room.

After nodding in acknowledgement to Nyna, Nyssa took a seat across from Eleena. They both silently studied each other for a moment before Nyssa finally spoke. “I’ll admit that out of all the people in the galaxy you would rank somewhere at the top of the list of people I’d never expect to get a call from.”

Eleena felt a small sense of relief that she did not have to introduce herself. What was she supposed to say? Hi I’m Eleena T’soni the daughter of the person you are genetically identical to, also I work with an anti-terror task force which works against groups like the people that made you, do you mind if I hire you for a job? “Because of who I work for or because of my father?”

Nyssa did not have to think long on that. Yes, T’soni worked with the task force but Nyssa had lived quietly and independently of organizations like Cerberus for decades so there was no reason for the task force to come after her. That this meeting had come together thanks to the T’loaks acting as middle men also indicated that Nyssa had nothing to fear from T’soni. No, Eleena’s work with the task force was not what had surprised Nyssa about the meeting.

Reaching out, Nyssa poured herself a drink. _This was so strange_. She swallowed a mouthful before speaking. “Because of your father. The last time I was face to face with her things didn’t end well for me. So, having her daughter contact me for a job definitely wasn’t something I ever expected to happen.”

“Fair enough.” Eleena was still unable to look at Nyssa without tensing slightly. The resemblance to her father was still off putting. She poured her own drink and swirled it about before speaking again. “Sorry about this. I know it’s weird but I don’t have a lot of options right now.”

“Yeah it is weird. But I’m a professional.” Nyssa sat her glass down and looked at Eleena. “T’loak said you wanted to talk about a job.”

Eleena nodded in confirmation. “I’m sure you’ve heard about what’s happening between the Alliance and the Confederation.”

“I heard about that. Confederation officials were behind the death of that Alliance ambassador right?”

“Eh. Not quite.”

Nyssa leaned forward and inclined her head, indicating that she wanted Eleena to continue.

“That evidence was planted by a former SIU operative that I’ve been trying to track down.”

A crease appeared on Nyssa’s forehead. “Why would a batarian want to frame their own government like that? If things escalate then it’ll be bad news for batarians everywhere.”

“You’re right about things going downhill fast for batarians if things escalate.” Although there had not been any retaliatory attacks yet Eleena had still called her batarian friends back on the citadel to make sure that they were careful around humans in the near future. “The thing about this guy, Brathor, is that he’s an old Hegemony hardliner. He devoted his life to that government and now sees the Confederation and those who support it as being traitors.”

“I imagine it doesn’t help that the Confederation received a lot of aid from the Alliance.” Nyssa said as she recalled the history of how the Confederation came about.

“No, it doesn’t,” Eleena agreed. “There are also enough humans in the Alliance that remember the Hegemony and don’t trust batarians to push for military action beyond saber rattling.”

Nyssa shifted slightly. She no longer harbored ill will towards the aliens of the galaxy but she still felt guilty about her old beliefs and actions.

“So the Alliance is acting just as Brathor hoped they would with the hardliners are pushing for war against the Confederation.”

Putting her personal guilt aside, Nyssa nodded. “Alright. I follow so far. Though I’m not sure where I might come into this. I mean you have your whole task force at your disposal.”

“Well that’s just it though. I don’t actually have the task force at my disposal right now.”

Frowning, Nyssa gestured for Eleena to elaborate.

Even though she knew the room was secure, Eleena couldn’t help but glance at the door before speaking. “I’ve started to suspect that Brathor has someone giving him intelligence from inside the task force.”

“A mole?” Nyssa leaned forward slightly as she spoke.

Eleena nodded. “I was part of a raid that was supposed to catch him and all of his supporters but he wasn’t there and all of his supporters were waiting for us and dragged things out.”

“Buying time for him?”

“That’s what I think. It did give him enough time to get to Elysium and kill the Alliance ambassador.” Eleena sighed and took a drink. “But I don’t have any proof right now,” she admitted.

“Alright. So you can’t use the task force’s people without possibly tipping off Brathor.”

“Yeah. That’s where I’m hoping you might come in.”

“Go on.” Nyssa was not sure about this. There would be a lot of people involved with this situation, Alliance people that might still want to lock her away. Still, she would hear what Eleena had to say.

“The last place I know Brathor was is Elysium. He and his remaining people were there for the assassination of the Alliance ambassador. My problem is that the Alliance isn’t going to let me onto the planet to pick up his trail. They’re too concerned about security and also don’t believe that the evidence against the Confederation was planted. And the longer they keep me and the task force off of the planet the more likely it is that Brathor’s trail will vanish.”

Nyssa did not like this at all. Could she make it onto Elysium past the Alliance defense fleet? Yes, she could. But doing that was a serious risk. She had managed to keep a low profile for years and for all intents and purposes Shepard’s clone was dead. Doing this could expose her. Worse, it could paint her as a suspect in the death of the ambassador.

Eleena nervously bit her lip. She could see that Nyssa did not like the idea of trying to pick up Brathor’s trail. The prospect of sneaking past Alliance personnel, people Nyssa had been careful to avoid for years, could not be pleasant.

Looking at Eleena, Nyssa shook her head. “I appreciate the difficult position that you’re in, I really do.” She glanced away and sighed. “But I don’t know if I can do this.”

Any other time Eleena might have been fascinated to see someone with her father’s face appear as apologetic and even scared as Nyssa did now. But at the moment Eleena was trying to stop a war and she needed Nyssa’s help.

Unsure of what she could say to convince Nyssa, Eleena just started talking. “Look, I know that this isn’t something you want to do. I know that you don’t know me or owe me anything. But I don’t have any other options right now. The task force might be compromised and I don’t have any other leads on Brathor.” Eleena let out a frustrated sigh as she struggled to find something to say that might convince Nyssa to accept the job. “I’m trying to make sure that a war doesn’t happen but I can’t do it on my own. I need help.”

Nyssa thought of all the jobs she had taken. Many had been risky, particularly the ones that she used to pay the bills. But none had ever had such a huge risk of exposing herself. If she took this job and was recognized then she might have the entire Alliance after her.

The stakes that Eleena was dealing with were clear. Nyssa made a point of staying informed of galactic politics and news. She knew that the Confederation did not have the numbers to actually conduct a war. If things escalated with the Alliance, the batarians might end up extinct in the near future.

The batarians needed help, Nyssa knew that. But ever since she had been woken up she had done everything in her power to maintain her own personal freedom and autonomy. The possibility of being constantly pursued and even locked up by the Alliance frightened her.

Nyssa looked down at her drink and again shook her head. “I’m sorry. But I can’t do this. I know how important this is but…” she trailed off and gripped her glass tighter. When she spoke again it was in a quiet and slightly shaky voice. “I can’t be locked up and made a prisoner again. When Cerberus made me they just kept me in a tank. And when I finally woke up for the first time I was almost thirty. I can’t do something like that again.”

Despite realizing that she was once again without any options, Eleena felt a wave of sympathy for Nyssa. She could not imagine what it must do to a person to wake up and to physically be an adult but mentally to still be similar to a child. Closing her eyes, Eleena silently berated herself. She should have thought this through all the way before contacting Nyssa with this offer.

Unable to look Eleena in the eyes, Nyssa stood and silently made her way to the door. As the door opened she paused and turned back towards Eleena. “I’m sorry.”

Eleena watched as the door slid shut behind Nyssa. She remained silent for a while before cursing. “Well that’s just fucking great. No reliable way to get to the evidence on Elysium and I just gave Aria a favor with nothing to show for it. Yeah that’s just great.”


	7. Chapter 7

- **Omega: Afterlife**

Eleena scowled as she poured herself another drink and tried to think of what to do. She had to get to Elysium to try and find Karek Brathor or a clue as to where he might be.  

Unfortunately her plan to hire Nyssa had not worked. While she could understand Nyssa’s reservations Eleena had hoped that the possibility of a conflict between the Alliance and Confederation might appeal to Nyssa’s own moral code. That had not been the case.

Now Eleena was drinking and becoming more and more frustrated as she tried to come up with a way to track down Brathor. The Consensus would not want to be caught in the middle of such a volatile situation. The task force possibly had a mole and could not get close to Elysium anyway. She could try to hire a smuggler but unless it was someone with their own moral code she could not trust that they would not sell her out. 

“Wow. I hope that you shared rather than soloed that bottle consort.” 

Eleena did not look up and instead finished her current drink. “Kharn.” Her voice was frustrated and there was a hint of anger to it as she acknowledged him. 

The former SIU operative took a seat next to Eleena and also moved the bottle away from her. “Watching the news I’ve noticed that things with Karek haven’t gone well.”

Eleena’s eyes were still on the bottle that Kharn had moved but after letting out a tired sigh she shifted her gaze to Kharn. “One way of understating things.”

Kharn nodded gravely. “It’s a simple enough tactic. Kill someone important and then plant evidence. If the person is important enough then there will be unnecessary pressure and time constraints put on investigators which ensures that mistakes will be made and evidence missed.”

“I take it that was something you did a lot of with the SIU.”

“As I said, it’s a simple enough tactic that almost always works.” Kharn, unconsciously touched the scar on his face as he thought of Karek. “Of course now the problem is how do we undermine that tactic.”

Eleena pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration as she tried to again come up with ways to get the evidence from Elysium. “Sorry to say that I’ve no idea how to undermine that tactic right now. But whatever we do we need to tread carefully. The Alliance still has plenty of citizens that resent batarians which is why the fleets were forced to mass on their border. But if we’re caught or if Brathor does something else it could spark military action against the Confederation.”

Kharn’s skin tone changed as blood seemed to drain from his face as he remembered past events. “I would prefer to avoid setting of an incident that would end in even more bloodshed than Torfan.”

The way Kharn looked when he mentioned Torfan told Eleena that it must have been a haunting event. She assumed that it was a pre reaper encounter, likely involving humans. But as it did not have any bearings on the current situation she let it go. “Well I don’t suppose your SIU training also made you an ace pilot that could get us onto Elysium?”

“I’m afraid not.” Kharn said with a small shake of his head.

Eleena leaned back and let out a long breath. “Fuck. Well we’ve got a problem then. I don’t have a single lead on Brathor right now. The only thing I can think of is getting to Elysium and picking up his trail there. If we find him we might be able to prove that the Confederation wasn’t behind Hunley’s death.”

“It certainly won’t be easy to get to Elysium after what Karek did. I assume you had a plan when you had Nyna T’loak ask me to leave the Talons to work with you.”

“Well I did.” Eleena said in an annoyed voice.

“Not that it matters now but what happened?” Kharn asked, curiously. Eleena T’soni did not strike him as someone that made many mistakes, perhaps that was the result of being the child of the savior of the galaxy.

“I misread someone is all.” She stood and stretched before indicating the main entrance and exit of Afterlife. “Come on. Maybe taking a look at the Omega skyline will help us figure out how to find Brathor.”

* * *

 

- **Omega: Gozu district apartments**

Nyssa sat at the kitchen counter, nursing a glass of wine, as Renee Marana worked on putting together a meal for them. It had been several hours since she had met with Eleena T’soni and despite being happy to meet up with Renee she was still thinking about that meeting.

Had she been a coward for turning down the job? No. It was just risk assessment. There would be far too many Alliance eyes on Elysium, she told herself. And why should she cares what happens anyway? It was not as if she had anything to do with the situation that the Alliance and Confederation were now in.

Seeking a distraction from her thoughts, Nyssa turned her eyes to Renee. Like Nyssa, the former Alliance sniper was not wearing much. After crossing the threshold into Renee’s apartament both of them had begun tugging at each others clothing until nothing was left. Now Renee was wearing nothing but an apron while Nyssa was in an oversized sweater of Renee’s. 

Another time Nyssa might have smiled in appreciation as Renee’s apron allowed for an excellent view of her muscled back, among other things. Unfortunately, Nyssa’s mind was still on T’soni. 

_...I can’t do it on my own. I need help. _

Frustrated, Nyssa put her glass down and rubbed at her temples. Why should she care about this so much? It was not her job to deal with situations like this. Someone else would solve the problem between the Alliance and Confederation. And even if it was not solved what did it matter? The Confederation was just a bunch of batarian thugs that managed to stop raiding and slaving long enough to appear civilized. 

A wave of guilt swept over Nyssa as soon as she finished her thought. 

She closed her eyes tight and tried to ignore all of the lies that Brooks had put into her head. 

_ You are the lone wolf that she was always supposed to be. You will make humanity strong. And unlike her you will not betray humanity by falling in love with all of these aliens. Is that understood? Because at best those aliens are just holding humanity back and at worst they are trying to oppose us. _

Nyssa’ nails dug into the sides of her head, as if she could claw at her brain and quiet her mind. Why couldn’t Brooks just go away? Why was she still in her head after all these years? Brooks was dead, Shepard had seen to that. So why couldn’t she just leave her alone?

Nyssa jerked and her eyes snapped open as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. Her heart started pounding in her chest and her muscles tensed in preparation for a fight. 

“Easy. Breathe. Just breathe.” A soft and kind voice spoke close to Nyssa’s ear.

Though her heart was still racing, Nyssa’s muscles relaxed as she realized that it was Renee. 

“Come on. Breathe.” Renee continued to gently urge Nyssa on.

Closing her eyes, Nyssa did as Renee said and took several deep steadying breaths. 

As Nyssa calmed down, Renee silently kicked herself. She knew how unexpected touches could upset Nyssa and given her history it was understandable. After being together on and off for so long she should know better. 

Seeing that Nyssa appeared to have collected herself and was now leaning back into her, Renee apologized. “I know how touch can upset you sometimes. I’m sorry.”

Nyssa hummed lightly and continued to lean back into Renee. “It’s alright. I know you were just trying to be comforting.” 

“Alright then.” Renee kissed the top of Nyssa’s head before sitting down next to her. “Before I made things worse, what was bothering you?”

Although a little disappointed at the loss of contact, Nyssa opened her eyes to look over at Renee. “Always so perceptive aren’t you?” 

Renee smiled in a slightly smug but caring way. She reached out and cupped Nyssa’s face with one hand. “You might have a large amount of ingrained and flash training that I’ll never understand but I’ve been around long enough to know when something’s bothering you.” 

A small smile appeared on Nyssa’s face as she leaned into Renee’s hand. “I guess I have been… open with you. More than anyone else.”

It would not have surprised Renee if she had been the only person that Nyssa had ever opened up to or been so vulnerable with. After everything that Nyssa had gone through Renee was still amazed that she had managed to make such a personal connection.

Taking a deep breath, Nyssa finally leaned away from Renee’s hand. “It was a job offer someone made me. It’s still bugging me.”

“The meeting you had before coming here?”

Nyssa nodded. “It came from an… unexpected person.”

Renee’s head cocked curiously to the side as she listened.

“It came from Eleena T’soni.” 

While Renee had not known what to expect that certainly was not it. “Shepard’s daughter? What the hell did she want with you?” she asked incredulously. 

“Like I said, the offer came from an unexpected person. And yeah it was actually Shepard’s kid.” 

_ My niece?  _

_ No.  _

_ I’m a clone so I don’t have a family. _

Nyssa silently scolded herself. That was a ludicrous thought. Shepard would never want to see Nyssa again let alone acknowledge their shared DNA. But Shepard had offered to save her that day on the Normandy.

Frowning, Nyssa tried to clear her head and rubbed at her temples again. She could think of the implications of shared genetics later. For now, Renee was waiting for more information. “She wasn’t here to arrest me or anything, obviously. She needed help getting to Elysium so she could try and figure out the situation between the Alliance and Confederation.”

“You didn’t accept?” Renee felt a rush of fear at the thought of Nyssa going into an Alliance stronghold like Elysium.

Nyssa saw the flash of fear on Renee’s face and quickly shook her head. “No. Of course not. I just…” She trailed off and thought of the words that T’soni had used. 

_...I can’t do it on my own. I need help. _

_ I need help. _

Those words made Nyssa again think of the young asari that had saved her life on the Citadel. But T’soni was not in a life or death position. It was not the same.

Unhelpfully, Nyssa’s mind went to every job she had ever done to try and unite families. All those attempts to vicariously get a taste of family and also to just try and help people. 

But she had Renee. She did not need to help others for that taste of love and family. She could be selfish and just think about the two of them. The painful realization that she had never actually said to herself or Renee that she thought they were together hit her. She was sure that Renee understood but Nyssa had still never said anything.

Renee reached out and took Nyssa’s hand. “You want to take the job?”

Nyssa squeezed Renee’s hand and nodded slowly. “God I wish it made sense to me but it doesn’t.” She chuckled bitterly and let her head fall back. “I’m terrified. Absolutely terrified that the Alliance might recognize me and then lock me up in a cell or put me in stasis. But I still want to help her. And it’s not even because I know how volatile the politics are. I just want to help her.” She shook her head in exasperation.

As Nyssa struggled to put words to feelings, Renee watched the woman that she had grown to care for. It hurt to see Nyssa like this. Struggling to deal with feelings was difficult for everyone but doubly so for Nyssa. She wanted to help but did not know how. It was especially difficult when her personal feelings were telling her to stop Nyssa from considering the job all together.

Without quite meeting Renee’s eyes, Nyssa voiced her earlier thoughts. “Is she… I mean… I know there’s no emotional connection or anything but… Would she be… family?”

The uncertainty and also the shame in Nyssa’s voice made Renee’s heart ache. She reached out and pulled Nyssa into an embrace. 

Nyssa closed her eyes and took a moment to just enjoy Renee’s presence. She felt safe with her. It was something that she had not felt with anyone else. Even when she had been woken up by Brooks, Nyssa had never actually felt safe in her presence.

Renee bit her lip as she tried to think of what to say. She knew how badly Nyssa craved connections especially familial ones. Sadly, Nyssa had never been able to receive those connections, given the way Cerberus had brought her into the universe. 

After giving Nyssa’s forehead a kiss, Renee thought she could at least try to answer Nyssa’s question. “Family is… well it’s often complicated. Some people put a lot of stock into emotional bonds and connections. Others see it as a genetic thing. Those with shared genes are family. Still others have a mixed view on family.”

Sighing, Renee knew that her answer was not the kind of certainty that Nyssa likely wanted. She wished that she could have given a more concrete answer but that would have been a lie. “I’m sorry but I can’t tell you if she’s your family or not. That depends on her and on you.” 

Nyssa deflated slightly in Renee’s arms. She knew that Renee was only being honest with her and she appreciated that. After everything that happened with Brooks, Nyssa despised being lied to. Still she wished that she could have gotten an actual answer to her question.

The two of them just sat together for some time, each with their own thoughts about family and each other.

Eventually, Renee broke the silence. “Do you want to call her? To talk more about the job?”

“I don’t know.” Nyssa was nervously bouncing her leg as she thought.

Although she hated to admit it, Renee knew that this was something Nyssa needed to do. If not then Nyssa would regret it, wondering what if, for the rest of her life. 

Glancing over to one of the side rooms where her weapons and gear were, Renee made a decision. She might not be able to keep Nyssa from taking the job but she could be there to help make sure it went smoothly. “Take the job.”

Nyssa looked at Renee, confused. “What?”

Smiling sadly, Renee took Nyssa’s hand. “I’ll be honest, I don’t want you to take it. It really is a huge risk to go poking around Elysium right now. But if you don’t do this then you’ll be constantly asking yourself what might have happened if you had. So take the job.”

Squeezing Renee’s hand, Nyssa felt happy at the possibility of getting to know T’soni. But that feeling was fleeting and was replaced by fear. Slowly, she shook her head. “I can’t. I might wonder what might have happened but… I can’t lose you because of this. If I get caught and locked up then I’ll never see you again. I’ll be put into a hole and left there, that’s if they don’t just kill me outright.”

She could not quite look Renee in the eyes as she continued to speak. “I… I know that I’ve never actually said anything before. About us I mean. But… I don’t want to lose you. I-”

Renee smiled as she put a finger on Nyssa’s lips to stop her. “I know. And I also know how hard it is for you to actually voice these things so you don’t need to say anything. And if you’re worried about leaving me here then don’t because you won’t be doing this job on your own.”

That made Nyssa frown in confusion.

“I’ve still got some friends in the Alliance that I trust.” Renee explained. “I can get in touch with them and get permission for the Osiris to land on Elysium. Also, and I mean no offense by this, I’m still a better shot than you are.”

Nyssa actually snorted a little in amusement. “Just because you were a sniper doesn’t mean you’re a better shot than I am.” Her amused expression quickly grew serious as she looked at Renee. “There were some jobs that I wanted to ask for your help with but you left the Alliance for a reason. After what you dealt with during the war… well I didn’t want to put you into a situation where killing, even in self defense, might come up.”

Renee lowered her head slightly as she thought about what had happened to her during and after the war. She had been left stranded on a colony that, after the reapers had harvested the civilians, was almost completely devoid of life. Despite calls for help and extraction the Alliance had left her and her squad behind, she understood later that it was because the fleets were mobilizing for a final assault on Earth. But that understanding had not made it easier for her to deal with being forced to kill her friends after they had been turned into some sort of reaper monstrosity. 

Being alone on the deserted colony for almost two years before the Alliance finally returned had not done Renee any benefits. She had been distraught at the loss of her friends and then had grown angry and resentful at the Alliance for leaving her there. That anger had not left her after her recovery and was a large reason why she left the Alliance. Beyond her anger Renee had also started to suffer in her firearm proficiency. Every time she looked through the scope she saw the faces of her friends. The very idea of killing people had started to repulse her. 

Things had eventually started to improve after seeing a therapist but what had really helped to turn things around was meeting Nyssa. Actually having someone to want to get better for had been the real incentive and drive that Renee had needed. 

Looking Nyssa in the eyes Renee set her jaw and nodded. “You’re right. After the war I was… well I was a mess. I was angry and I didn’t have anything going for me.” Her determined expression softened slightly as she felt Nyssa’s hand take hers. “But now I have something that I don’t want to lose either. We may not have had the most conventional of relationships but it’s still something that I value. So I’ll do whatever I have to to make sure that you come back to me, that includes going out there with you and dragging you back myself.”

Nyssa was trying hard to contain herself as she listened to Renee speak. Hearing confirmation that Renee also cared for her was more than Nyssa had ever hoped for. She was still scared about the prospect of taking the job but Renee was right in that she would constantly wonder what might have happened if she turned it down. 

“Alright?” Renee asked.

Nyssa leaned her forehead against Renee’s and could feel her eyes water slightly. “Alright. And thank you.”

* * *

 

**-Elysium**

Branya Ghan’ganak managed a small smile as she went through various news feeds. 

In response to the death of Ambassador Hunley, xenophobic humans had attacked Confederation buildings and citizens. Political tensions were on the rise as the Confederation Navy sent what ships it could to their border. The tense standoff between Alliance and Confederation forces now attracted all the eyes of the galaxy. Politicians desperately tried to find a way to solve the crisis peacefully but were hindered every step by the evidence indicating the Confederation was behind Hunley’s assassination. 

Branya found it amusing how easy things had been. She, Karek and the other former SIU operatives had gathered together an impressive force and yet it was the fifteen of them that had caused the current crisis. Do more with less had always been the SIU creed and it still held true now.

Despite being happy about putting the Confederation on the brink of war Branya felt tired. She could admit to herself that running off of hatred was difficult. For years hatred of humanity and then the Confederation and driven her. That hatred still drove her but she also found herself thinking about what might have been. What if the old council had supported the Hegemony rather than the humans? What if she had found a way to work with the Confederation? What if her family had not been left to bleed out in the streets?

Closing her eyes, Branya let her usual precise posture sag just a little. These days the memory of her family gave more pain than comfort. She wanted to remember their smiles and laughs but all she could remember were their beaten and bloodied bodies. 

Her family had been going about their day when humans attacked them simply for being batarian. Footage Branya had found showed that bystanders of all species had walked past and just let it happen. Heartbroken and furious at what she saw, Branya hunted down the humans responsible and killed them in as painful a way as she could.

She had hoped that revenge would have been enough to put the memory of her family to rest but it had never been enough. She had always needed something more. That drive and need for more had made her a highly effective SIU operative but it had not allowed her mind and soul to find any measure of peace. 

A feeling of hopelessness filled her mind. Would taking vengeance on the Confederation really make it easier for her to sleep at night? It had not helped after her family had been killed so why would this be any different?

Branya’s fist clenched. Destroying the Confederation had to mean something. It had to. If not then everything she had done with her life, after the Hegemony had fallen, would have been meaningless. 

“Branya.”

Fixing her posture, Branya looked up as her name was called. “Sir?”

Karek Brathor gave her a slightly concerned look. He had rarely seen his second in command become lost in thought. It made him curious but he respected her privacy as they all had thoughts they would rather not voice. “We’re going to be pulling out soon.”

“They secured us an exit?”

Karek nodded. “I had to remind them that we could still turn this around and prove that the evidence against the Confederation is fake. It was amusing really. They see us as brutes and disposable tools but because of that they continue to underestimate us.”

Branya had to agree that their backers did underestimate them for being batarian. However they were still dangerous and would undoubtedly try to come after her, Karek and the others. “Where are we going?”

“Nasurn.”

“The salarian colony? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” It was one of the salarian’s first three colonies and would be heavily guarded and surveilled.

“It’s a major economic center and attracts clients from across the galaxy. So we’ll be able to blend in easily enough before we make our next move.”

“Of course. I’ll make sure everything has been packed up.” Branya inclined her head before heading out to help pack things away. 

While working, Branya could not help but feel that sense of hopelessness again. She tried to bury the feeling but the whole time she worked she wondered if her life had actually amounted to anything. Would her actions ever send out echoes that would benefit others? Or was she merely someone screaming mutely into the void?

* * *

 

**-Omega**

Eleena and Kharn had been speaking ever since leaving Afterlife. Neither had any real plans for tracking down Brathor. Their best idea so far had been to wait for him to leave the planet, which Kharn was certain that he would do. Unfortunately that plan meant waiting and they could not afford to wait when the Alliance and Confederation were on the brink of conflict. 

Needing a moment to just pause and clear their heads, Eleena lead them to a level that Aria kept deserted. There they were able to look out at the Omega skyline without anyone to interrupt their thoughts. 

Glancing around Kharn had to admit he was impressed. “Consort, you continue to surprise me. Not many people would sneak into one of Aria T’loak’s levels just to get a look at the view.”

Shrugging, Eleena kept looking out at the Omega skyline. “Pretty sure she knows that we’re here but Aria tolerates me.” 

“You’re in the minority then. Most people that cross Aria usually end up dead.” Having finished looking around, Kharn joined Eleena in looking out at Omega. 

Eleena chuckled as Kharn joined her. “Benefits of being the consort to Omega’s princess I guess.”

Two of Kharn’s eyes twitched in amusement. “So it would seem.”

Silence fell between them as they watched skycars fly by. The silence was not awkward but it was heavy as both were still thinking of Karek Brathor. 

Eleena’s eyes followed some of the skycars without really seeing them. She thought of the few friends that she had and how what Brathor had done might affect them. Korem might end up dead with his position as chief of security at the Confederation’s citadel embassy. Brenk could be assaulted by xenophobic humans while out exploring new worlds. Dralla had some measure of respectability, being a doctor, but would also be in danger of physical assault and death threats. 

She might not have been around during the height of batarian discrimination but Eleena was not blind. As a child she saw the disgusted way people had looked at her and her friends when they had played together on the citadel. Threats of violence and harassment from C-sec had also been common occurrences for her friends. She herself had been assaulted by an overzealous C-sec patrolman when trying to stand up for her friends. If Brathor managed to spark a war Eleena knew that conditions for the surviving batarians would get much worse. 

“Don’t suppose that SIU background of yours has come up with any new ideas on getting to Brathor?” Eleena asked.

Kharn smiled sadly. “I’m afraid not. Without either some contacts within the Alliance or a ship with authorization, forged or authentic, we can’t get onto Elysium.”

Eleena let out a tired sigh and nodded. She had considered calling her father for help with authorization but knew that would be a dead end. Shepard might be a hero to most of the galaxy but that did not mean that she did not have enemies. A fair number of Alliance officials considered Shepard’s influence to be a danger in itself. If it was ever learned that Shepard had given her daughter, an alien, authorization to land on Elysium it would lead to a huge political backlash. So she would not get any authorization that way.

“Well we’re stuck waiting then. I don’t have people I can trust to help us out with this. Was kinda hoping you might have old contacts we could use.”

“It seems that I am continuing to disappoint then as I never had many human contacts to begin with. The few that I did have died during the war. Could Aria possibly help with this?” Kharn did not really think that Aria might help but he would take any solution he could as he did not want to see Karek destroy everything that batarians had built.

Eleena shook her head. “Aria won’t help me now. I already owe her two favors for getting the Talons to let you work with me and for setting up my meeting that fell apart.”

Kharn had wondered why the Talons had not protested more when Nyna T’loak asked if he would work with T’soni. He felt bad that she had negotiated his cooperation and it had amounted to nothing besides being in debt to Aria. Though her willingness to accept that debt made him feel that she would do everything in her power to help the Confederation.

“Well if we have nothing new we can still stake out Elysium and its outbound traffic. There are plenty of news agencies that have ships in the system hoping for updates. We could blend in with them,” Eleena suggested.

“We could. Though outbound traffic will be difficult to track without additional resources. Are you sure that the task force could not assist us in tracking the mass relay traffic in the system?”

Eleena thought about that. She was not sure if she could trust the task force right now to not tip off Brathor to what she was doing. “I honestly don’t know. I know that Brathor was tipped off to our raid on the station so he might also be told that we’re monitoring the traffic on Elysium.”

Feeling her omni-tool vibrate, Eleena pulled up her messages. 

Glancing over, Kharn saw T’soni frown at the message. “Something else wrong?”

“Actually, something might finally be going right.” She closed her omni-tool and motioned back towards the level’s entrance. “Come on. I may have written someone off a bit too quickly.” 

-

Nyssa looked out at the Osiris from one of Omega’s viewports. Doubt was still weighing heavily on her. Would helping T’soni actually gain her any sense of familial belonging? Renee had explained that family was a complicated thing and so any friendship with T’soni would likewise be complex. Still she wanted to at least try to get to know T’soni better.

“Hey.”

Looking up, Nyssa saw Renee exit the umbilical that connected the Osiris to Omega. 

“Everything’s all secured and ready to go. I’ve also gotten in touch with an old friend that’s still in the Alliance. He says that since I’m former Alliance and flying an old Alliance ship he can help us get clearance to land.”

Reaching out, Nyssa took Renee’s hand. “Thank you.”

Renee still had her own misgivings about going to Elysium but she wanted to help Nyssa however she could. “Don’t mention it. Like I said I’m going to do everything I can to make sure nothing happens to you during this job.”

“Still this means a lot. Everything you do for me means a lot.”

The sincerity and gratitude in Nyssa’s voice and expression made Renee forget her misgivings for the time being. Smiling, she gave Nyssa a quick kiss. “Don’t mention it. Just know that I’ll be having you make it up to me once we finish up with this.”

Nyssa coughed at the look Renee gave her and was glad to see Eleena T’soni arriving at the docks. 

“It looks like she brought a friend.” Renee commented upon seeing the batarian that was walking with T’soni. 

“I guess so.” Nyssa felt an odd sense of disappointment as she saw T’soni’s companion. She quickly shook off that feeling. This was going to be an actual job. It was not just an excuse to get to know T’soni.

Taking a deep breath, Nyssa extended her hand for Eleena to shake. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

Eleena shook her head in dismissal before taking Nyssa’s hand. “Don’t apologize. I should have thought more about your position. Can’t be easy, constantly ducking the Alliance and other authorities.” 

“I appreciate you saying that.” Nyssa scratched nervously at the back of her neck. “I know you told me about the situation with the task force but I’ll admit that the more I think about it the more surprised I am that you came to me with this. I’m also surprised that you even knew I existed. I didn’t think that Shepard would’ve talked about me.”

At the mention of her father, there was a tic under Eleena’s left eye. “No, Shepard didn’t ever mention you. But when I was a detective with C-Sec I heard a lot of rumors about Shepard’s old exploits. One of those centered around a possible double. There were also a lot of stories going around about how Commander Shepard had reunited a bunch of families and also captured various criminals all over United Council Space.”

“Ah.” Nyssa recalled that during her early years as a bounty hunter she had not been as careful at concealing her face as she was now. “So you learned of me some time ago?”

“Couple years ago, yeah. Wasn’t too hard to figure things out after I did some digging.”

“But you didn’t tell anyone I was still alive?” 

Eleena shrugged. “Didn’t see any reason to. You were doing the galaxy a lot of good so I buried what I found and went on with my life.”

That took Nyssa by surprise. She had not expected T’soni to actually bury her findings. But then she had also not expected T’soni to be on good even friendly terms with Nyna and Aria T’loak. Perhaps the young T’soni had more secrets than Nyssa expected. 

“I guess I just wouldn’t have expected you to keep that a secret. I’d have figured your father for one would’ve wanted to know.”

“Yeah well my father doesn’t always get what she wants.” Eleena’s voice was cool and indicated an end to the subject of her father. 

Nodding, Nyssa stopped talking about Shepard. Still, she was now curious why T’soni apparently kept secrets from and had less than positive feelings towards her father. 

“Well anyway like I told you in my message I’ve reconsidered.” Nyssa jabbed her thumb behind her towards the Osiris. “So if you and your friend can follow me then we can head out.”

Eleena looked over to Kharn, who had kept a polite distance during the conversation. She motioned for him to follow as she walked with Nyssa and the other unknown woman. “I take it you have a plan for getting onto Elysium then?”

“We do, yes,” Nyssa said.

“Well I’m glad to hear it. I was hitting all sorts of dead ends myself.” Eleena looked ahead at Nyssa’s companion, who was leading the way into the ship’s airlock. “We haven’t been introduced. Eleena T’soni.” 

Renee turned and looked Eleena up and down before shaking her hand. “Renee Marana. And your friend?”

Kharn stepped forward and offered his hand in the human gesture. “Kharn Dos’sah.”

Shaking his hand, Renee felt a slight twinge of unease. She had lived a large part of her life hearing about batarian slave and pirate raids. She had also fought against a number of batarians during her time with the Alliance. That distrust of batarians had lessened but never left her during her time on Omega. But despite her misgivings about batarians she felt that Eleena T’soni would not have brought him if he was not trustworthy. 

As the brief introductions were given the airlock shut and they all went through decontamination before the Osiris’ inner doors opened. A synthesized feminine voice greeted them as they all entered the ship. 

“Welcome back, Nyssa. I see you have guests.”

“Alice, the Osiris’ VI,” Nyssa explained. “Yeah. You know Renee. This is Eleena T’soni and Kharn Dos’sah.”

“A pleasure. Eleena T’soni, would you prefer to be addressed in a feminine way?”

Eleena was impressed at that. Few people actually took the time to understand the asari concept of gender and simply categorized them all as female. To find a non asari VI programed to ask about gender preferences was rare. “I’m fine with being addressed in a feminine way. Thank you, Alice.”

“Of course Miss T’soni.” 

Taking a step towards Renee, Nyssa put a hand on her arm. “Mind taking her out while I talk them through the plan?”

Renee glanced uneasily towards both Kharn and Eleena. She did not want to leave Nyssa alone with them. They might not be a physical threat but Eleena in particular could cause significant emotional distress if things went poorly. “Alright. Just call if you need anything.”

“I will.” They both held hands for a moment before separating. 

Both Eleena and Kharn noticed the simple yet intimate exchange but did not say anything. Instead they politely waited until Nyssa took them further into the ship. 

As they walked through the corvette, Nyssa gave brief descriptions of modifications and changes that had been made. The weapons and sensitive Alliance technology had been removed when the Slayton was decommissioned but Nyssa had been able to re-equip it with state of the art equipment from the black market. The interior had also been redesigned in a more civilian friendly way, offering comfort in addition to function. 

Nyssa finally brought them to the comms room. It had remained mostly the same since its Alliance days but Nyssa had added a holotable and some seats that were actually comfortable to make planning and conversations with clients easier. 

Once the three of them had taken seats, Nyssa explained how she was going to use Renee’s ties to the Alliance to get clearance to land on Elysium. Renee used to have family that lived on the colony so that would add credibility to their ruse. But getting onto Elysium was the easy part. The difficult thing would be finding any leads on Brathor as any evidence that might have been left behind was surely either gone or in Alliance hands.

“He’s too smart to have left anything behind at the scene. We’d do better if we tried to track his movements via security feeds.” Karek said after the idea of seeing what evidence the Alliance had was brought up. 

“That may be difficult to do.” Nyssa gestured towards Eleena. “From what she has said the task force has a mole. So we can’t rely on them to give us the support necessary to tap into security feeds.”

“Actually, I think that I can get us into the planetary surveillance feeds.” Eleena said while using the holotable to pull up publicly available records on Elysium and its infrastructure. 

Both Kharn and Nyssa gave her an incredulous look. “I didn’t know you were an adept hacker.”

“I mean I wouldn’t say I’m adept at it more an acceptable hacker,” Eleena said with a shrug.

“Then what makes you think that you can get into the security feeds?”

“Because I’ve done it before on places with tighter security like the Citadel.” Eleena answered but without giving any actual details. She had no intention of letting them know about her friends. The Consensus had trusted her with one hundred and fifty-seven of their people and she was not going to betray that trust now. “Look I can get us those feeds but I’ll have to ask Renee for help with that.”

Nyssa frowned. She did not want to involve Renee anymore than necessary but she would hear Eleena out. “What exactly are you asking?”

“Nothing too risky,” Eleena assured. “I just need her to go somewhere public, find a terminal for maps, attractions, anything and then upload some software into it using my omni-tool.”

That seemed simple enough but Nyssa was still reluctant to involve Renee. “You want someone not already connected to this?”

Eleena could see that Nyssa was uncomfortable and reasoned that it was because she and Renee were in some sort of relationship. She hoped that that would not cause problems. “That’s right. Usually I’d do this myself but with the Alliance on high alert I can’t risk my face being seen. Being with the task force I’ll immediately cause suspicions that we’re interfering somehow with the Hunley matter. Kharn can’t go without the risk of being lynched by a mob and you also shouldn’t be showing your face out there. That leaves Renee. Now I’m sorry about this but, unless we want the Alliance coming down on us, she’s our best option.” 

Kharn inclined his head. He had not been relishing the thought of stepping onto a world that currently despised him. It was something of a relief to know that T’soni had taken that into consideration.

Nyssa was biting the inside of her cheek as she listened to Eleena. Renee had told her that she wanted to help but that did not mean Nyssa liked it. Still she could not fault T’soni’s reasoning as the three of them would indeed draw attention while Renee would not. 

“I’ll ask her but it’ll be her decision,” Nyssa finally said.

Eleena gave Nyssa and sympathetic look. “That’s all I can ask.”

They continued speaking and tried to come up with other ways to locate Brathor but did not come up with anything. Without additional resources they were limited in what they could do. Even with the planetary surveillance feeds, and Eleena’s friends, it could take a while to locate Brathor.

Renee eventually joined them and agreed to upload the software. She questioned just what it was she was uploading and why it had to be from Eleena’s omni-tool but was convinced that the less she actually knew the better.

“I’m sorry,” Eleena said in a genuinely apologetic way. “But the origin of the software while it isn’t exactly classified it’s a secret that isn’t mine to share. Though I can assure you that it won’t be noticed by any of the electronic security systems.”

Renee did not like being kept in the dark like this but was not surprised by it. During her time in the Alliance it had been standard operating procedure to compartmentalize information. That T’soni had learned the same thing during her career was to be expected. “Alright. I’ll upload your software. You just better be right about no system techs noticing it.”

Eleena managed to keep a smile off her face as she thought of her friends and the adaptive nature of the geth. “No one will notice. I’ve done this before in places with better security than this.”

“Right. Well you paid for our help up front so I’ll take your word on that.”

“I mean I definitely didn’t pay that much money just to burn you before we got started.”

“Comforting,” Renee said with an eye roll.

The four of them continued talking for some time but it eventually began to circle. They all agreed that there was not much they could do with their limited resources. 

Without anything else to do the four of them wandered through the ship as they waited to arrive at Elysium. 

Eleena found a work bench and was nearly done with installing a geth scanner into her visor when Nyssa joined her. 

“Hey. Have a minute?”

“Yeah. What’s up?” Eleena asked curiously. Nyssa seemed a bit agitated but in a different way than when Renee had been asked to take part in their plans. 

Nyssa scratched the back of her neck, nervously. Talking to someone should not be this difficult.

Frowning, Eleena shifted so she was directly facing her father’s double. “Nyssa, what’s wrong?”

Taking a breath, Nyssa decided to just go for broke. “Nothing’s wrong but… after this… is it alright if we talked?”

Eleena did not say anything for a few moments as she tried to think of what Nyssa was after. “I mean… I don’t have a problem with talking after all this. But what is it that you’re after?”

Nyssa bit her tongue but she had already asked to talk so why stop now? “Well I guess I’m just not sure what you and I are.”

Ah.

Eleena understood now what was on Nyssa’s mind. She was Shepard’s clone or twin depending on how someone looked at it. Would that make her Eleena’s aunt? Would Eleena actually be a good niece? She had already been a miserable daughter. 

When Eleena finally pulled herself from her thoughts her voice had a slightly pleading note to it. “I really have no idea what you and I are. We can talk, sure. Just please, please don’t expect anything from me. I’ve been a failure of a daughter. My parents and I don’t really talk. I don’t know if I’d be any better with you.” 

Nyssa’s curiosity and also sympathy for Eleena rose as did her own joy at being able to talk about whatever they were. “Thank you. And I won’t expect or hold you to anything. All I wanted was to talk.”

Eleena and Nyssa both nodded to each other and despite not wanting to have any expectations both hoped that something good would come out of their talk. 


	8. Chapter 8

**-Elysium**

The Osiris emerged in the Vetus system and began an approach to Elysium. As it flew through the system it was obvious that the normally heavy Alliance military presence had been increased considerably after the assassination of Ambassador Hunley.

“Damn. There’s another cruiser.” Kharn said while looking out the cockpit windows.

“Looks like Brathor outdid himself here.” Eleena said while also looking out at the various Alliance ships.

Kharn nodded, sadly. “Karek always was good at his work.” He hated to think of what the border of the Alliance and Confederation must look like. He would not be surprised if there were dreadnoughts and carriers stationed there in addition to numerous cruisers. The Confederation Navy would not stand a chance if the Alliance launched a retaliatory attack.

Seeing that Kharn was upset, Eleena put a hand on his shoulder. “We’re gonna find Brathor.”

Looking back at Eleena, Kharn let out a tired chuckle. “You’re still young, T’soni. You’ll find that once you’ve been around long enough encouragement doesn’t really have the effect it once did.”

Eleena inclined her head slightly to Kharn. It was true that she was still young, especially for an asari. But she had to disagree that she did not understand how meaningless encouragement could be. As a child, encouragement and sentiment had lost almost all meaning though she still found herself offering it to others from time to time.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the bridge controls as Alice informed them of an incoming hail.

“Now we see if my friend came through with these codes.” Renee mumbled before listening to the hail.

“Independant ship Osiris, this is the SSV Berlin. We have you on our screen as a scheduled arrival. Please transmit clearance codes and a list of anything that you have to declare.”

“SSV Berlin, this is Osiris. Transmitting clearance codes now. We also have nothing to declare.”

“Osiris please maintain your present course until your clearance codes have been verified.”

“Roger, Berlin. Maintaining our course.”

Eleena looked out at the Berlin and then over to Nyssa. She was confident in Nyssa’s skills but that did not keep the row and rows of guns on the Berlin and other Alliance ships from worrying her. “I’m assuming that all your black market tech won’t be picked up if they do a thorough scan of us.”

A rather cocky smile, reminiscent of a younger Shepard, spread across Nyssa’s face. “No Alliance sensor is going to pick up all the modifications I’ve made to her, don’t worry.” She said while patting a control panel.

Eleena gave Nyssa an uncertain nod before returning her gaze to the multitude of ships that were stationed around Elysium and throughout the system. They would have to leave quickly if something went wrong.

As the seconds crept by, various thoughts ran through Eleena’s mind. Perhaps Renee’s friend had not come through and was setting them up. Would the Alliance just shoot them down or attempt to capture them for questioning? What would the fallout for the task force be if she and the others were caught? Her actions might set the task force back years if the Alliance withdrew support for it.

The radio crackled and Eleena found herself holding her breath.

“Independant ship Osiris. Please follow the coordinates we are sending you to Port Illyria, docking bay ninety-four.”

Eleena closed her eyes and let out her breath.

“Told you not to worry.” Nyssa said while smiling at Eleena.

Renee waved at Nyssa to keep quiet but could not keep a faint smile from appearing on her own face. “Roger that, Berlin. Heading for Port Illyria, docking bay ninety-four.”

Turning off the radio, Renee took the Osiris down into Elysium’s atmosphere.

It was not long before they had docked at the appropriate bay. Traffic was lower than usual as Alliance security had been heightened ever since the assassination but there were still ships coming and going from the port.

“Damn it.” Eleena said while trying to keep a mental note of all the ships she saw leaving the planet. “We need to get into the surveillance feeds. Brathor could be on one of those ships.”

“It’s possible. He’ll be wanting to conduct another significant attack soon, to force the Alliance to retaliate against the Confederation,” Kharn explained. “His first attack dug up all the buried ill will towards my species. Another attack will force the Alliance into taking action or risk angering the masses.”

“Smart man.” Renee said while moving back towards the airlock.

Eleena followed her and after going through what needed to be done one more time handed over her omni-tool.

“I just hope that you’re sure about this tech working. I don’t really fancy spending time in the stockade if I’m caught.”

“Like I’ve said, I’ve done this on the Citadel among other places and no one detected me. Just open up the public information terminal and the systems in the omni-tool should do the rest.”

Renee actually managed a smile, despite her misgivings about illegally tapping into Elysium’s surveillance feeds. “Never would’ve figured on Shepard’s kid being one for breaking all sorts of laws like this. Guess I figured you’d have been raised to be some sort of paragon like her. Always working to show that cooperation between people and governments works.”

Although she still hated the comparisons to her father, Eleena felt a small sense of pride that she appeared to be quite different from Shepard. “Maybe cooperation works when facing a galactic invasion but I’ve found that official political cooperation doesn’t mean a damn thing with my line of work. So occasionally I do things like tap into planetary surveillance in order to locate suspects.”

“Well let’s hope that your law breaking plan works. I don’t really want to be on this planet any longer than we need to be.” Renee looked over Eleena’s shoulder and smiled at Nyssa who had joined them.

Moving forward, Nyssa took one of Renee’s hands and squeezed. “Be careful. We won’t be able to get to you in time if the Alliance catches you uploading the software.”

Leaning forward, Renee gave Nyssa a light kiss on the cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful. And it’s not like I’m defenseless.”

Despite her desire to keep Renee out of any sort of conflict, Nyssa chuckled. “No you’re definitely not defenseless but I’d prefer not to have to book it through an aggressive Alliance fleet just because you kicked someone’s ass.”

Eleena tried not to roll her eyes at Nyssa and Renee and just let them say what they had to. “We’ll be on comms if you need anything.”

Nodding, Renee bid them both a final farewell before heading out.

Together both Eleena and Nyssa went to join Kharn, who was already in the comms room.

“Comms are up.” he told them as they entered.

“Good.” Eleena said while taking a seat and putting on a headset. She could not help but notice the rather relieved look on Nyssa’s face upon hearing that the comms were working.

Working with the holotable, Kharn pulled up an image of a public plaza in the heart of Illyria. “Mid day right now. Humans should be all over getting their second meal of the day. Plenty of cover for her.” He was speaking more for Nyssa’s benefit than anything as they had all discussed this previously.

Nyssa silently nodded and put on her own headset to better hear any updates that Renee gave them.

Before long, Renee made it to the plaza and confirmed that it was indeed filled with people going to and from lunch.

“Found a terminal. Uploading your software.” Renee muttered just loudly enough for the comms to pick up.

It was a few moments of silent waiting before Renee’s voice came through in the comms room. “Hm. Well that’s interesting.”

Eleena immediately sat up straighter. “What’s interesting?”

A crease had appeared between Eleena’s eyes as she pressed her headset to her ear. There should not have been anything interesting to see while uploading the geth into the system. Her friends would take care of everything themselves while Renee just browsed through the terminal.

A small feeling of worry crept into Eleena’s heart as she thought of having to explain her close friendship with the geth to her current companions. Synthetics were still viewed with great suspicion in the galaxy despite growing support for them and their rights as sentient beings. That was why it was safer to simply keep their presence a secret.

As Renee opened up the channel from her end, Eleena listened intently for the response.

“They’ve got deliveries to the port. To specific ships even. We could get some curry before we leave.”

Nyssa had to work hard not to snort with laughter as she listened to Renee and watched Eleena’s almost furious expression. “Maybe another time? I don’t really want to great whoever delivers that with my face.”

Renee hummed through the comms in agreement. “Probably a good idea.”

Putting aside her sudden fear that her friends had been discovered, Eleena glanced at the time display on the holotable. They should almost be done as only seventy-three of them were making their way into the terminal and Elysium’s electronic systems at large.

“Alright. There we go. Software is uploaded.”

“Ok. Let’s see what we can see.” Moving over to a terminal, Eleena had her remaining eighty-four friends connect with their seventy-three companions. It took a moment but eventually she had access to Elysium’s surveillance feeds. “Got it. Alright Renee we’re up.”

“Copy that. Withdrawing.” There was a pause on the line before Renee spoke again in a rather playful tone. “Sure you guys don’t want me to pick anything up for you?”

Eleena promptly tossed her headset away.

* * *

 

**-Nasurn**

Branya Ghan’ganak was seated at an outdoor cafe and acting as a stationary lookout. Karek and most of the others were settled in an apartment building. They might have set up cameras but with Nasurn being a salarian colony they doubted that their electronic surveillance would go unnoticed. So they had instead gone with physical lookouts in rotating shifts.

It had been about an hour into her shift when she had decided to take a seat at the cafe and order some food. The position gave her a clear view of the apartment building and anyone that might be watching it. Her mind should have been completely focused on scanning the people around the building but it had once again wandered.

Ever since the death of ambassador Hunley, Branya had been unable to focus properly. Was this some sort of life crisis? It was not as if the killing of the ambassador bothered her. She had been successful in SIU both because of her skill and because killing never bothered her much. No it was not the killing of the human. But the consequences of Hunley’s death were bothering her.

All of the SIU operatives that followed Karek had known that the destruction of the Confederation would lead to some collateral damage. It was an inevitable side effect of their initial plan. But that initial plan had not counted on using the Alliance like a puppet. Now rather than targeting to key leaders of the Confederation the Alliance might invade multiple batarian worlds and lead to an untold number of deaths. She had been prepared to accept the deaths of internal security members along with military personnel that they might encounter but the mass death of civilians, something that would happen if the Alliance made a retaliatory attack, was not something she had wanted.

The batarian species had been utterly devastated during the war. Branya had paid close attention to sensus data from the Confederation to track the numbers of their species. It was still a pitiful number but it had started to rise in recent years. If Karek’s plan to use the Alliance moved forward then their species might be on the road to extinction.

Branya moved some of the food around on her plate, not really hungry. She was at a loss for what to do. Her hatred for the Confederation and its willingness to forget what other species had done to the batarians was very real. But her anger could not let her justify the sacrifice of the batarian species itself just to end the Confederation government. She was not sure what to do.

After a while Branya actually finished her plate and was taking her time with a drink. She had not seen anyone suspicious but was wishing that she had as that would have drawn her full attention.

Her mind went to the evidence that she and the others had planted that implicated Barcob’s administration. She still had the source recordings and files that would prove who was behind the planted evidence. If given to the right people the files might stop the Alliance from laying waste to the batarian species. But who were the right people? Who would listen to her? She did not know.

* * *

 

**-Citadel**

Ronoka Tilsa was growing frustrated. She wanted to work more on the encryption the Eleena had given her. Unfortunately, Arlana had been keeping her busy with work that should have been given to someone other than the task force’s best cryptologist and electronic security specialist. If she did not know better she would have said that Arlana was just keeping her busy to spite Eleena who Arlana frequently clashed with.

Needing to do something to keep up the work on the encryption and who might be using it, Tilsa had swallowed her pride and called Caeldros for help.

“Let me get this right.” Caeldros spoke in an almost unbelieving but also amused tone. “You, Ronoka Tilsa, are asking to bring in a specialist because you need help?”

 _By the wheel of the universe, I am never going to live this down_ , Tilsa thought to herself.

It was clear that Caeldros was going to approve her request but it seemed that he was enjoying listening to her admit she could not do everything herself, especially since she was never exactly modest when discussing her skills.

“Yes.” She said begrudgingly. “I need to get someone clearance to work with me.”

“Because you need help?”

Tilsa could imagine Caeldros’ mandibles twitching in amusement as he tried to make her admit she needed help. “I don’t need help I just need assistance. It’s a different thing.”

“Of course it is.” Caeldros was already getting a temporary clearance set up as he dragged the crypologist along.

Groaning, Tilsa spun herself around in her chair. “Look can I get the clearance or not?”

“Given the relevance of what you’re doing, yes you may have help.” He put emphasis on the word ‘help’ and found the second groan from Tilsa to be just as amusing as the first. Given how busy things had been with Barcob’s confirmation and then the assassination of Hunley he had not had the chance to find anything amusing in a long time.

“What’s the name of this specialist?” He asked, having finished setting up the temporary clearance pass.

“Ati’ri. They’re Raloi and I can vouch for their abilities.”

Caeldros felt his mandibles move about in interest. He had never worked with a Raloi before. They had not sent many people to join C-Sec or the other Citadel and galactic organizations once they reemerged following the reaper war. “Alright. Ati’ri. I’m putting you in charge of them. Let me know if they find anything on the encryption T’soni gave you.”

“Will do.” Tilsa paused, about to end the call.

“Yes?” Caeldros asked as he saw that the line was still open.

Tilsa realized that she was actually twisting her fingers with nerves. But then, she reasoned, Eleena was one of the few actual friends she had.

“Have you heard anything more from Eleena? I haven’t gotten any updates from her in a while.”

His previous amusement at the cryptologist’s frustration at asking for help evaporated as Caeldros listened to Tilsa. He recognized the worry in her voice and recalled that Tilsa was quite close with Eleena. “I’m afraid I haven’t heard anything recently but that’s to be expected with what she’s doing. She’s a very capable agent and knows how to take care of herself.” he said reassuringly.

Tilsa had to admit that Eleena was indeed capable. But despite Eleena’s abilities, Tilsa still worried for her friend. “Alright. Thanks boss.”

* * *

 

- **Elysium**

Eleena was laying across a couch that Nyssa had put in one of the Osiris’ rooms. She had spent the past seven hours combing through security footage but even with her geth friends sorting through all the footage was slow work. So far they had been able to locate Brathor and his SIU companions once on the day of the assassination but they had been unable to track the SIU operatives.

No one had really been surprised that Brathor and the others managed to avoid security cameras. All four of them were quite familiar with moving about unnoticed but that did not stop them all from getting tired and frustrated at how long things were taking.

“Looks like you could use a drink.”

Turning her head, Eleena saw Nyssa holding up a bottle of beer. It wasn’t a drink that she really enjoyed but the bottle looked cold so she reached out and took it.

“Cheers.” Eleena raised the bottle to Nyssa and took a drink.

“Not your favorite?” Nyssa asked as she watched Eleena pull a face.

Moving over on the couch, Eleena shook her head. “Prefer honey mead. Guess I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth.”

Nyssa shrugged and took her own seat on the couch. “We all have our preferences. Renee just finished lecturing me about not keeping a bottle of nice wine here.”

Eleena chuckled at that as she thought of Lynora. “Yeah my girlfriend has a thing for wine too. But she has specific tastes so she handles her own alcohol.”

As she thought more of Lynora, Eleena started to feel a bit guilty. She had not called or sent any messages to Lynora in a while. And while they both understood that work sometimes kept them apart they had both agreed to try and keep each other informed as much as possible.

“Something wrong?” Nyssa asked in a concerned voice as she saw Eleena’s expression fall.

“No. At least it isn’t anything life threatening. Just thinking that I haven’t called Lyn in a while.”

Nyssa nodded sympathetically. She knew how difficult it could be at times to keep up with others. The fact that she programmed Alice to remind her to call Renee was proof of that. “You can use the comm room if you want to send a message. It’ll mask the extranet address so the Alliance here can’t trace it back to us.”

Smiling gratefully, Eleena raised her bottle to Nyssa. “Thanks. Might do that a bit later.”

“No problem.”

As she continued to drink her beer, Eleena’s mind relaxed enough that she started to think about how very different Nyssa was from Shepard. They still looked alike, it was true, but their way of talking, their mannerisms and just the way Eleena felt around them was so incredibly different.

Shepard had always had an air of confidence to her especially whenever she spoke. Perhaps it came from her military experiences or maybe it was just Shepard’s personality. Whatever the case Eleena remembered that the few times Shepard actually had the time to talk had left Eleena feeling inadequate.

Nyssa on the other hand was surprisingly timid at times especially when with Renee. Even during their first meeting, Eleena had seen Nyssa show a broad range of genuine emotions including fear and apprehension things that she had never seen with Shepard. It had made Nyssa feel like an actual person that Eleena could relate to and not the forever out of reach galactic hero that Shepard was.

Some of her thoughts must have shown on Eleena’s face as Nyssa looked over to her with a curious expression.

“You alright?”

Eleena looked at Nyssa and saw the genuinely curious and slightly concerned look on her face. It was something she had rarely ever seen on her father’s face and the few times she had it had been directed at her mother not her. It made Eleena smile as she nodded.

“Yeah. I’m alright. Just thinking is all.”

Nyssa cocked her head to the side. “About what?”

“I’m just really glad that you aren’t her.”

Nyssa was taken aback by that. She had thought Eleena might be thinking more about her girlfriend not about her father and Nyssa herself.

With her entire life being shaped by Shepard and the first person she had ever met, Brooks, wanting her to become Shepard it was very gratifying and reassuring that someone besides Renee valued her for being herself.

“Thank you, Eleena. I’m not sure if you understand just what that means to me but it’s a lot.”

Eleena gave Nyssa a smile that looked more sad than anything. “Honestly? I think I might be the only other person in the galaxy that gets just how much it means to be valued as yourself without any comparisons to Shepard. I had plenty of guys back in C-Sec and in my early task force days that would do the comparisons of me and her and they were always sure to let me know that I wouldn’t ever come close to a fraction of the things she had done.”

_You’re just a pale imitation of the real thing_

The sad look on Eleena’s face and tired tone to her voice made Nyssa feel that Eleena did indeed know what it was like to constantly live her life with Shepard’s shadow looming over her.

Without saying anything, Nyssa just raised her own beer to Eleena. Clinking their bottles together they both drank deeply.

The two of them sat comfortably together for some time after that and just drank but eventually Nyssa had to voice what was on her mind. “Can I ask why you aren’t all that close with her?”

“Hm.” Raising her beer, Eleena took another drink that emptied the bottle. It was not that she did not want to talk about her relationship, or lack of one, with Shepard but it was something she had not really discussed since her time with Samara.

“Well I guess it’s mainly because my birth parents weren’t ready to have a kid. I mean I’m sure they were happy when I was born but they just didn’t know what to do with me after that.”

Nyssa was frowning as Eleena slowly put thoughts to words. From everything she had learned of Shepard it had seemed that she had been capable of anything she put her mind to. “What do you mean they didn’t know what to do with you?”

“Well…” Eleena trailed off as she went through her early memories. Unsurprisingly, very few actually involved her parents. “I guess I mean that they just weren’t ever there. It’s not that I think they were neglectful, I mean we always had resources and I never went hungry or anything, but they just weren’t ever around. Shepard was still part of the Alliance and so was always leaving to do whatever they asked. My mother was pretty much the same. Always talking with the Asari Republics and surviving leaders about this or that. So I was mostly left on my own or sometimes with my grandmother and other friends of my parents.”

“They didn’t raise you?” Nyssa asked in an incredulous voice. She had never had parents with how she came into the universe but she had sworn to herself that if she ever had children she would raise and care for them herself.

Eleena shrugged and started spinning her empty bottle about with biotics. “Like I said, they didn’t know what to do with me. They probably imagined us being this close and caring family or whatever but the reality was that they weren’t ready to drop their careers, still aren’t. As I understand it, my father is still doing a lot of work for the Alliance and my mother is doing the same with the Republics.”

“As you understand it? So you still don’t talk with them?” It seemed sad that while Eleena had parents they did not apparently have any role in her life. Nyssa wondered if she herself would have prefered to have absent parents or none at all.

“Not really.” Eleena slouched down into the couch as she continued to think about her parents. “I tried to talk with them about half a year ago, open up a dialogue or something. First time I’d actually talked to them in years. Didn’t really take though I think they hoped it would’ve.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing dramatic. No shouting or anything. There just wasn’t any kind of emotional connection there. Well maybe there was for them but I didn’t feel anything when talking to them. They were basically strangers to me.” She paused in the spinning of the empty bottle and hummed curiously. “Kinda makes me wonder what it was like for them. I think the last time they actually saw me in person was when I was thirteen. To see me now was probably a shock.”

Nyssa had no doubts that seeing someone after decades would indeed be a shock to anyone. But her mind was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Shepard and Dr. T’soni had never taken a serious roll in their child’s life. Everything that had made Shepard special, her crew, their devotion and trust in her and her trust in all of them seemed like it would have been an emotional baseline in how to treat a child. But then perhaps Shepard’s love for the Normandy and its crew was precisely what had prevented her from loving Eleena in the same way.

“I just…” Nyssa shook her head in amazement. “I’ve learned a lot since becoming myself and I don’t understand why someone would have a child, bring life into the universe, and then leave it to be shaped by someone else.”

Seeing Nyssa unable to understand Shepard and Liara T’soni’s actions made Eleena feel bad about Nyssa’s creation as a clone with no one to care for her. It must have made her quite sensitive to the idea of life being created and then left on its own.

“Thinking of Cerberus?” Eleena asked in as level a voice she could when asking someone about the terrorist organization that had created them.

“Yeah.” Nyssa said with a small nod. “Did you know why they made me?”

Eleena shook her head no. “There weren’t a lot of details in the files and reports I found.”

A slightly twisted smile appeared on Nyssa’s face as she thought of Cerberus’ plans for her. “Spare parts. I was made for spare parts.”

Eleena shuddered slightly and felt a familiar feeling of guilt rise up in her gut. It was the same feeling she always felt whenever she had to face the consequences of Shepard’s actions. “I didn’t know that.”

Nyssa nodded. “Yeah. Made in case Shepard needed an arm or a lung.”

Eleena couldn’t keep herself from shifting uncomfortably. Her personal guilt by association to Shepard was making her feel terrible but she could also feel an anger spark within her. Shepard had caused an incredible amount of suffering no matter how much of a peacemaker and paragon the history texts said she was. It made Eleena angry that Shepard seemed to have avoided all the consequences of her actions.

“Sorry.” Nyssa let out a small laugh as she played with her hands. “I guess there really isn’t any way to respond to that. Just thinking about why people make life. Cerberus made me for spare parts. And while it was cruel they did stick to that purpose. Guess I just don’t understand why Shepard and the doctor didn’t stick to your purpose.”

That was an odd way of seeing things. And the way Nyssa had spoken made Eleena think that she actually pitied her. “I can’t say exactly why they didn’t seem to care about me as much as they did each other or their work but that’s just life. Not everything works out even if we wish it did.”

Leaning over, Eleena gave Nyssa’s shoulder a pat. “But hey it looks like you’ve made out alright despite some rough beginnings. You’ve got your life, a ship and a girl now.”

Despite the rather grim talk about her original purpose a genuinely happy smile spread across Nyssa’s face as she thought about that. “Yeah I guess so. And what about you? You mentioned a girlfriend earlier. Lyn was it?”

Eleena smiled herself as Nyssa grew warmer and stopped thinking about people making and not valuing life. “Yeah. Her name is Lynora. Pretty happy with her and with life in general.”

“I’m glad that things worked out for you after leaving your parents.” Nyssa gave Eleena’s leg a pat and took the empty beer bottle. “Want another?”

“If you’ve got enough then yeah I’ll have another.”

“No problem. Be right back.”

As she watched Nyssa take the bottles away Eleena started to think about Nyssa and Renee’s relationship. She was happy for them but it couldn’t be easy with Nyssa’s status as a Cerberus clone of Shepard. It was then that an idea came to her. Something Eleena could do to try and make things right for Nyssa after Shepard indirectly caused her so much trouble.

Getting up, Eleena followed Nyssa into the gally. “Hey.”

Looking at Eleena, Nyssa raised an eyebrow. “Eager? I didn’t think you liked beer.”

Eleena rolled her eyes and motioned towards the table where Nyssa took a seat with her. “And I still don’t. No it’s something else that came to mind.”

“Alright. I’m all ears.”

“Immunity.”

A slightly confused frown appeared on Nyssa’s face as she looked at Eleena. “Immunity? For Brathor? I don’t think he’s the type to go for a deal like that not with what you’ve shared about his past.”

Eleena chuckled at that and shook her head. “No, not for Brathor. I was talking about you.”

That caught Nyssa off guard so much so that she did not quite believe what Eleena had said.

Leaning forward, Nyssa tried to speak but found that her voice suddenly was not working. Unable to speak she managed to motion for Eleena to go on.

“When we first met, you were scared that the Alliance might find and arrest you. Absolutely understandable given your history. But what if you didn’t have to look over your shoulder all the time?”

Eleena paused and watched as Nyssa struggled with what Eleena was saying. She wondered if Nyssa had ever thought that one day she might not have to worry about the governments of the galaxy learning about her existence and hunting her down.

“Now the task force has been given a lot of political power, we need it to run our operations across borders. So if I push hard enough I can get you an immunity agreement clearing you from all past actions.”

Nyssa was holding her head in her hands. It couldn’t be possible. This must be some sort of dream. She must have fallen asleep in the comms room and was now dreaming about being legally free from prosecution.

“Nyssa?” Eleena reached out a tentative hand but quickly pulled back when Nyssa flinched at the touch. “I’m sorry.” Eleena said while giving Nyssa space to think.

“It’s alright.” Nyssa managed to finally say after swallowing hard. Raising her head, she looked at Eleena with desperate eyes and a pleading expression. “Can… can you really do that?”

Nyssa’s eyes were shining as tears began to well up in them. It made Eleena’s heart ache, seeing Nyssa in such a vulnerable position. “Yes, I can.”

The sudden appearance of an exit, of a way to escape the constant paranoia was overwhelming for Nyssa. She had always assumed that she would have to live under the radar for the rest of her life. It was incredible to think that she might be able to travel to places and not worry about facing off against special forces or intelligence agents. Still, she had learned long ago that nothing in life ever came for free.

Taking a few moments to compose herself, Nyssa looked over Eleena with suspicion. “Why? You’re already paying me for doing this. So why?”

A reasonable question, Eleena thought. Though she was still a little hurt that Nysaa saw her as being just like everyone else in the galaxy, selfish and only looking out for themselves. “Because you deserve better than what life has thrown at you. And because my father caused a lot of suffering in the galaxy, including what Cerberus did with you, and I want to try and fix some of that.”

Keeping her eyes on Eleena, Nyssa carefully studied her and what she had to say. All of her training in observation in detecting lies and tells told her that Eleena was being honest with her but then her flash training had also made her trust Brooks too. But that was not fair to Eleena. She had been frank with Nyssa ever since they met on Omega and had even paid up front after they started working together.

“No strings attached to this.” Eleena said as she let Nyssa look her over. “You’re helping me a lot with finding Brathor and I know I can sell that to get the sign off on an immunity deal for you.”

As she listened to Eleena talk, Nyssa couldn’t help but think of the young asari child that had helped her all those years ago on the Citadel. Someone offering help just because they could. She doubted that she would ever really understand how some people could just offer help to others. Her own actions, reuniting families the war had separated, were done out of a selfish desire to feel a vicarious sense of family.

Though her senses still felt overwhelmed, Nyssa managed to compose herself and smile at Eleena. “If you can actually do this then the next job you hire me for is free.”

* * *

 

**-Omega**

Nyna T’loak was going through the numbers on the final eezo shipment for the Aephus shipyards. While she enjoyed the mercenary work that she was able to get from her father and the Talons she also had a talent for the more economic side of things on Omega.

Both Nyna’s mother and father had been very encouraging when she started to show an interest in numbers and negotiations. Her mother, Councilor Tevos, had even offered to take her on as an aid to help work on representing the asari on the galactic stage. Nyna suspected that both her parents would have liked it if she had accepted the position but she turned it down. She had no desire to be in an environment where people would see her only as a means of getting to her mother or father. And while on Omega some saw her as a way to get to Aria she could still prove her own worth and value by shooting at anyone that tried to use her as some sort of bargaining chip.

Finishing up her overview of the shipment, Nyna cleared it for departure. The Aephus deal had proven extremely lucrative for Omega. Nyna could have made even more of a profit with the deal but she was always cautious about providing everything that Omega’s customers wanted from their own mines. It would not do to exhaust Omega’s resources, vast though they were. Instead she would partner with other smaller eezo mining companies in order to meet the demand of customers. Bringing such deals to others gave Omega options to expand by purchase various shares or even entire companies. Thanks to her actions, Omega was now taking in some of the profits from a variety of eezo mines and distributors across the galaxy.

Nyna had been about to go through her messages to see what other deals Omega was considering when her private terminal signaled that a message had been flagged by her filters and needed to be looked at.

Frowning, Nyna moved over to her terminal and opened the message that Omega’s network had picked up. Her eyes narrowed as she read through the contents of the message. It was immediately obvious why it had been flagged. Nyna had previously set up a specific set of filters to flag anything relating to Eleena and her work and this clearly had a lot to do with Eleena’s work. A suspicious amount to do with Eleena’s work in fact.

Pulling up a keyboard, Nyna began to type out a message.

As she typed Nyna thought that Aria would probably have offered some criticism of what she was doing but she did not care. While Aria might require a favor or payment in return for assistance Nyna took care of her friends because they were friends.

Her message complete, Nyna prepared to send it off but hesitated. The information that the net had picked up just seemed far too convenient and that made her very suspicious. Would sending the message off somehow do more harm than good?

Unsure of the answer, Nyna sent the message off to her friend. She knew Eleena well enough to know that she would want to receive the information. Nyna could only hope that if it was indeed too convenient that Eleena would be able to avoid the trap.

-

_Hey Lee._

_Flagged something on the net that I think you’ll want to see. But I gotta say I think it’s a little too convenient that it was flagged by my system. I’m thinking that someone is looking for you specifically with this._

_Short version is that someone on Nasurn is offering to share information that’ll prove Alliance Ambassador Hunley’s assassination was a set up and that the Confederation wasn’t involved. I’ve attached the original message so you can go over exactly what it says._

_Now I know that relates to what you’re working on right now but you know what they say if something seems too good to be true right? Means that it usually is._

_I haven’t verified any of the message myself since we don’t have people that far out of the Terminus so I don’t have a whole lot to give you. But it did manage to come to our network’s attention so that means it isn’t some idiot spreading conspiracy theories on the extranet._

_I’m sure you know that Nasurn is a big economic hub and is also a major salarian world so you could be dealing with STG, some corporate security tech that just came across something or someone else entirely. I just don’t know._

_I’d tell you to use your fancy government resources to look into this but with those two favors you asked for I’m guessing that isn’t an option right now._

_Be careful with this one Lee. It might all end up being just fine but I’ve got a bad feeling about it all the same._

_N._


	9. Chapter 9

**-Elysium**

Eleena was not sure what exactly to do with the information that Nyna had sent her. It was a new lead and given their inability to locate Brathor with Elysium’s planetary surveillance new leads were welcome. But the fact remained that it was far too convenient that someone had emerged and was looking to share evidence clearing the Confederation of involvement in Hunley’s death.

Unsure how to proceed, Eleena brought the information to her companions to get their views on the matter.

After going through everything that Nyna had sent, Kharn unconsciously rubbed at the scar on his face. “I agree with T’loak. This is all very convenient.”

Renee nodded in agreement. “For all we know it could be Brathor himself putting out false leads.”

“That’s possible. Karek’s initial attack raised tensions but he would have to conduct at least one more, something high profile, in order to guarantee a military response from the Alliance. False leads to slow down those looking for him would give him more time to carry out such an attack.”

Eleena had had the same thoughts after initially reading Nyna’s message. She would not be surprised if Brathor covered his tracks with false leads and other misdirection. The problem was that, like Nyna had said, Eleena could not use the task force’s resources to follow up and determine if the lead was legitimate.

 “How well known was your relationship with Nyna T’loak?” Nyssa asked while still looking over the message. “Is it possible that someone could have sent this towards Omega in the hopes that she would detect it and forward it to you?”

“It’s possible.” Eleena said after a moment's thought. “We’ve been friends for years. And while I’m sure that Aria tried to keep things quiet to protect Nyna we didn’t exactly try to keep our friendship a secret. So, I’m sure a number of people have seen us together either on the Citadel or Omega.”

“Not good.” Nyssa muttered to herself before mentally going through any possible contacts she had that were close to Nasurn.

“No, it isn’t but the truth is that we’re without any reasonable leads here. We hoped that the planetary surveillance feeds would help us find Karek but he has managed to avoid them almost entirely.” Kharn pointed out.

“That’s true. Even with your programs running night and day we’ve only gotten brief glimpses of Brathor and his people.” Renee said while bringing up the few shots of Brathor that the planet’s security cameras had captured. “And none of them led us anywhere.”

“Yeah. I was hoping we might be able to follow him to a ship or something but even focusing on the ports we haven’t been able to find him.” Eleena spoke in a frustrated tone but kept from actually complaining. “But that’s why I brought this to you three. After almost a week we’ve got nothing here. Now I can access the feeds anywhere in the galaxy now, all I need is a secure extranet connection. So, I’m asking your opinions on going to Nasurn to follow up on this?”

There was a brief pause as thoughts were gathered and weighed out. Eventually Kharn was the first to voice his feelings on the matter.

“I will say again that this is incredibly convenient and could be a setup. But if we outmaneuver it and find whoever this source of information is then we may have a means of tracking down Karek and proving that Barcob’s administration had nothing to do with the ambassador’s assassination.”

Nyssa shook her head with concern. “Now I’d like nothing more than to leave this planet. Nothing has gone wrong but I hate being this close to the Alliance. That being said, I feel that, given your relationship with Nyna T’loak, this is someone purposely trying to manipulate your actions. You’ve previously mentioned the attack by Eclipse and how Brathor escaped the SIU station before you even arrived. This could be that same person trying to stop your investigation. And if you’re taken out of play then it would give Brathor free reign to do whatever he wants. We just have far too many unknowns with this new lead.”

Eleena inclined her head, agreeing that Nyssa had a valid point and offering sympathy for keeping her on an Alliance world. She also made a mental note to contact Caeldros to ask how Tilsa was doing with the encryption. If they could find the mole then Eleena could use the task force’s resources without worry about tipping off Brathor.

Attention then turned to Renee who was tapping her fingers while looking over the surveillance images of Brathor. “I think they both have a point. If the source is real then you have evidence that clears the Confederation. Or if it turns out to be a setup but we get the fake source they could be a lead to Brathor. But then this all could be a smokescreen to try and throw you off his trail.” Looking up at Eleena, Renee gave her a very faint and knowing smile. “If we were to lose access to the surveillance feeds by going to Nasurn then I would say it isn’t worth the risk. But since you said your ‘software’ can give us access to the feeds with just a simple extranet connection I think it’s worth going to Nasurn to follow up on this.”

Both Kharn and Nyssa noticed the strange emphasis Renee had put on the word ‘software’ but neither commented on it.

Grateful that no one seemed to be intent on pursing any questions about her friends, Eleena started to speak. “Alright. Nyssa, I agree that this could be someone using Nyna to get to me. And since I’m the only one following Brathor it would effectively stop all efforts to find him if I’m killed. But without resources from the task force I have to follow up on any and all leads I find. That being said, if you disapprove of going to Nasurn then I’ll just ask that you simply drop me, and I assume Kharn, off there and we’ll follow this up ourselves. You and Renee can then leave and do whatever you want. I’ll still follow through with what we discussed but you don’t have to go any farther with me than you’re comfortable with.”

Nyssa appreciated Eleena’s continued sympathy but also understood the position Eleena was in. The young asari really did not have any other options with the possible mole in the task force. So, she waved off Eleena’s words. “I appreciate your sentiment but you hired me to do a job and it isn’t done yet. Besides, we’re leaving Alliance space now which means I’ll be able to move around and breath a lot easier. So, if you want to head to Nasurn then I can get you there.”

Nyssa’s professional pride certainly did demand she finish the job but there was something else that was taking priority over even that. After speaking with and getting to know Eleena during their time together, she wanted to make sure that the asari was kept safe. Or as safe as one could be in this line of work. She also felt sympathy for the other person whose life had forever been shadowed by Shepard.

“Would you like me to plot a course to Nasurn?” a feminine voice asked from the ship’s speakers.

“Yes. Thank you, Alice,” Nyssa responded.

“Of course.”

* * *

 

- **Citadel**

Ronoka Tilsa was waiting at the security desk as her friend was given provisional clearance to work in the task force’s headquarters. It had been a while since they had seen each other in person. The last time had been overshadowed by the fact that Ati’ri had gotten sick. Despite the development of various immunizations, the raloi were still susceptible to many alien illnesses. But the raloi had built up enough immunities that environmental suits were no longer necessary when in an alien environment like the Citadel.

Soon enough Ati’ri had received their clearance and upon seeing Tilsa made a series of friendly clicks with their tongue. “It is good to see you again Tilsa. My apologies on what happened during our last meeting. Apparently, the human flu was spreading about.”

“Don’t worry. I’m just glad you’re healthy again.” Taking Ati’ri’s taloned hand, Tilsa shook it.

“Been spending time with humans, have you?” Ati’ri asked upon having their hand shaken. “I would prefer not to get sick again so soon if you have been around them.”

Tilsa messed up some of the feathers on her friend’s arm before leading them towards her work station. “This is the fault of a friend of mine. She’s asari but had a human father so she knows all the mannerisms.”

Ati’ri’s pupils dilated in amusement. “You have another friend? I’m impressed, Tilsa.”

Closing her eyes, Tilsa resisted the urge to kick her friend. The last time she had tried she had injured her foot by kicking the talon that the raloi had casually lifted. “I swear I will pluck all those crest feathers of yours.”

Tilsa’s threat only made Ati’ri click their beak with laughter. “My people’s cultural attachment to our crests aside, your threats have never truly meant much. Perhaps it is the lack of feathers. Your species might look more threatening and less like a meal if they had tails they could flare.”

“Remind me why it is we’re friends again?” Tilsa asked while avoiding her friend’s playful joust of their beak.

“Because I, and apparently this asari friend, are the only ones that can stand your ego and incessant need to dip your beak into everything you come across.”

That was fair, Tilsa admitted to herself. Eleena often commented on how Tilsa’s behavior was going to get her into trouble one day no matter how much blackmail material she had amassed.

A worried feeling then began to settle within Tilsa as she started really thinking about Eleena and what she was doing. She had to really get to work on the encryption that Eleena had given her. Breaking it was not enough, Tilsa knew that. She had to try and find others who used the same type of encryption. That would lead to whoever had given away Eleena’s location on Omega.

Noticing that their friend had gone quiet, an unusual thing for most salarians let alone Tilsa, Ati’ri gently nudged Tilsa with their beak. “What is wrong, my friend?”

Tilsa gave Ati’ri a slightly forced but still grateful smile. “Worried about my other friend, which is actually why I asked you to come here.”

Ati’ri’s eyes seemed to flash then, almost as if they had spotted and were zeroing in on prey. Another individual might have recoiled at the almost predatory look on the raloi’s face but Ati’ri knew that Tilsa recognized it as an expression of directed focus and commitment to listen to everything they were told.

“A while ago my friend was ambushed by mercenaries. Now that alone isn’t unusual given how she has done a good job at developing an impressive enemies list. But she learned that they hadn’t just spotted her and chose to attack, instead someone had told them where to find her.”

There was something off in how Tilsa was acting. The raloi noticed how her voice had lowered and she was looking around to ensure that no one was listening to them. That told Ati’ri a great deal. “I understand. I assume you have something that you wish me to explore then?”

Tilsa nodded and was obviously grateful that her friend had picked up on the possibility of their being a mole in the task force. “An encryption. I know you’ve been all over the galaxy as part of the raloi outreach and while doing that you’ve gone and stuck your beak into all sorts of data and codes. We need to know who uses this particular one.”

Clicking their beak, as if readying for a fight, Ati’ri motioned for Tilsa to take them to a secure workspace. “Then come. We must act.”

Hearing the raloi saying from her friend made Tilsa feel a small bit of relief. She had learned that the raloi loathed inaction. Every raloi hatchling was taught that if they saw something that was wrong or that required attention then they would act to rectify the situation. That cultural teaching had caused a large rift in society when the reapers had invaded as many wished to lend whatever aid they could to the galaxy at large while others insisted that destroying their satellites and similar space installations was the action that was required to protect their species. Tilsa knew that some, like Ati’ri, felt a deep sense of shame that they had not aided the galaxy in its fight. But that shame also gave them an incredible drive to act on almost everything that they saw wrong in the galaxy. That Ati’ri had chosen to act with Tilsa to help Eleena meant a great deal to the salarian.

* * *

 

**-Osiris**

Since choosing to pursue the lead on Nasurn, Eleena had noticed that Kharn was becoming stressed. It quickly became obvious why when Eleena saw the latest news report on the situation between the Confederation and Alliance. A Confederation school had been targeted by angry humans and bombed. At least twenty students had been injured with four being left in critical condition. No one had been killed but that did not make Kharn feel any better as overall public opinion seemed to be turning against the Confederation as old anti-batarian sentiments continued to be dug up.

Unsure of how exactly to help Kharn, Eleena offered to spar with him in the cargo hold. In her own experiences she found the fighting always helped to calm her nerves or at least clear her head a little.

Knowing that he would not be of any use in his current state, Kharn had accepted Eleena’s offer. He even managed some humor when accepting. “Just don’t feel too bad once I’ve beaten you.”

Eleena rolled her eyes as they headed to the cargo hold. “And I’ll try not to break any of your bones old man.”

A mocking series of tones started to come into Eleena’s ear and she had to work hard not to react to her friends betting that Kharn would soundly beat her.

Unable to say anything out loud to her geth friends, Eleena settled for twitching her head as if in discomfort. An old signal that she had come up with to show her nonverbal annoyance at things her friends did.

Another quick series of amused tones came to her as she made it to the cargo hold and wished her the best of luck though with the obvious belief that she was about to lose.

Ignoring her friends, Eleena set about getting ready with Kharn.

Stripping down to their undergarments, Eleena let out a low whistle as she looked over at Kharn. “Damn. You’ve been through a lot haven’t you?”

“Happens when you actually live through my line of work.” Looking down at his own body, Kharn traced several slashes that looked like they were from a blade. “Asari commando got me with a sword here.” He then moved to a messier looking web of scar tissue. “Shrapnel from a human grenade. Of course the human ended up looking a lot worse than I did,” he said in a darkly amused way.

He pointed out a few more before his hand paused at several scars on his torso. As his hand reached them he unconsciously paused and then raised his hand to the rather prominent scar on his face.

Eleena had noticed that Kharn often reached for that scar whenever talk of Karek Brathor came up. She suspected that he got it and the ones on his torso when he turned his old friend in to Barcob’s security forces. “What about that burn?” Eleena asked as she tried to pull Kharn away from his dark thoughts.

Taking his hand away from his face, Kharn blinked several times before responding. “Ah. That was actually from the war. Ravagers overran our position so I used the grenades I had left to blow them all to the afterlife. Problem is that those things then spray acid everywhere when they die.” He ran his hand along his left side, where the burn was. “Stuff ate right through my armor.”

Eleena shuddered as she thought of that. With the way combat was conducted there were very few defenses against something like acid. Fighting against an enemy that used it as a defense mechanism could not have been easy. “Shit. You’re lucky that didn’t eat right through you.”

“Believe me, I know.” Kharn then nodded to Eleena’s own body. “Looks like you’ve had some noteworthy encounters yourself. Where’d you get those?”

Looking down at her abdomen, Eleena ran her fingers over one of her various scars. “This was back when I was with C-Sec. Human serial killer down in the wards got the drop on me while I was trying to help his next victim.” She then turned around so he could see her back which was marked by three uniform scars that had about an inch or two separating each of them. “Turian cabal. Got stuck full of those damn nightshade blades they carry. Venom nearly killed me.”

Kharn nodded sympathetically. He had fought turian biotics before and was privately grateful that the Hierarchy treated them with so much suspicion. If the turian cabals had been utilized more effectively they could have caused significant harm to the various SIU operations that were conducted outside of batarian space.

While going over her back Eleena’s hand paused at a well healed scar which caused Eleena’s mind to wander back to her childhood.

The other students in her class had learned just how much her biotics had deteriorated and cornered her after school had let out. They had taunted her with their own biotics and used their abilities to hurl rocks at her. She remembered falling as she ran away and then curling up on the ground to wait out the assault. As she laid there being struck repeatedly one jagged stone managed to slash open her back. The students had scattered when they saw the blood but they left her with a permanent scar and a growing resentment towards the asari species.

Not wanting to discuss that particular incident, Eleena pulled herself from the memory and turned back around to face Kharn. “And that-” She pointed at her left leg which had an odd-looking discoloration to it. “That was an asari. Warp shredded right through my armor and nearly got my leg too.”

Kharn shook his head while chuckling in amusement. “Biotics. Always have to think another three times whenever going up against them.”

“Yeah, I can definitely sympathize with you there. Still you can get a general idea of how someone might act based on their species.” As Eleena spoke she stretched out her arms and legs in preparation for their bouts.

“I suppose that’s true. Each species has their own basic doctrine.” Kharn also began to limber up before he took up a defensive stance and began circling to Eleena’s right.

Eleena had also fallen into a basic stance and started following Kharn’s movements.

They both watched each other, trying to understand the other’s body language and hopefully anticipate their actions.

Kharn was the first to act and advanced with several probing jabs, testing Eleena’s defenses.

Parrying, Eleena reacted quickly and tried to land a blow to his midsection.

Quickly taking a step back, Kharn moved out of Eleena’s reach. As he did so he grabbed her extended arm and twisted to force her to the deck.

Gritting her teeth in pain, Eleena tried to relieve the pressure on her shoulder but could not reach Kharn or get any leverage from her current position.

Closing her eyes Eleena put her weight on her shoulder and flipped over. With her shoulder now mercifully free of the pressure from Kharn’s leverage, she tried to land a punch but instead found herself backpedaling as she was struck in the chest.

Smiling, Kharn paused and gave Eleena a moment to recover. “What’s wrong consort? Is your plan to avoid breaking any of my bones to be beaten instead?”

“Four eyed bastard,” Eleena grumbled. She then gritted her teeth as several “I told you so,” tones filled her ear.

Kharn only laughed at the insult before motioning for Eleena to come at him again.

Cautiously moving forward, Eleena began to exchange blows with Kharn.

It did not take long for her to realize that she had not lost the initial bout due to bad luck and circumstance. Instead she saw that she was outmatched. Her years of training with Samara had often given Eleena a small edge in fighting hand to hand as a justicar’s style of combat was not well known throughout the galaxy. But Kharn had decades of practical experience that Eleena lacked and it was showing.

It was not that Eleena was a terrible fighter, far from it. But every time Eleena thought she could exploit an opening she found Kharn outmaneuvering her. He was not exactly faster than she was but he had a frustrating knack for anticipating her movements which allowed him to render her youthful speed irrelevant. She suspected that his four eyes also gave him an advantage over her two.

As their sparring continued things became more viscous. No one moved to cause any real harm but there would certainly be some bruising the next day. Kharn himself seemed particularly fond of rapping his knuckles on Eleena’s ribs while playfully telling her to not leave herself open. Eleena on the other hand landed most of her strikes through swift and unexpected kicks. Kharn was just far too good at tracking her arms’ movements no matter how quickly she moved. While infuriating it was a natural thing that developed among experienced fighters in order to see biotic attacks coming as arm movements were the typical means of harnessing the dark energy.

After having her ribs struck by Kharn for the fifth time, Eleena finally let out a pained snarl and managed to wrap her arms around Kharn’s chest. She then crashed her forehead into Kharn’s, succeeding in stunning him.

Not stopping, Eleena’s knee came up into Kharn’s gut. She could hear his grunt of pain and tried to continue with another hit but suddenly found that her knee had not come back down.

Despite being in pain, Kharn had taken hold of Eleena’s leg. With a very obvious smirk on his face he sent the off balance Eleena falling backwards onto the deck.

The wind was knocked from her lungs and caused Eleena to gasp for air. Her hands also went to her head as pain shot through her crests which had impacted hard on the deck of the cargo hold.

She then heard a sympathetic but smug tone come through her comms implant and just groaned.

“Well I hate to say it consort but I think that I won that round.” Kharn stood over Eleena with his own smug yet oddly sympathetic smile on his face. “Better luck next time.” He then offered her a hand and pulled her up.

Taking the offered hand, Eleena pulled herself up. “Don’t take this the wrong way but I really hope those kicks I landed leave you sore.”

Kharn laughed. “Oh, don’t worry about that, I’m sure they will. I might have beat you but you weren’t wrong about me being old. Injuries last longer than they used to.”

“If what just happened is any indication you can still hold your own in a fight.” While still rubbing at her crests, Eleena tilted her head to the left slightly as she spoke, indicating her respect for the batarian.

Smiling, Kharn also moved his own head to the left. “You know there aren’t many outside of the Confederation and Omega that are familiar with that sort of body language.”

Eleena chuckled as she gathered up her clothes. She remembered how during her visits to the Citadel her batarian friends had played several pranks on her regarding batarian body language. Her jaw had been rather sore after she unintentionally insulted someone her friends knew. “As a kid almost all my friends were batarian. They taught me the basics and then their parents corrected the things they deliberately misled me on.” She moved her hand about to demonstrate what she had been told was a greeting similar to grasping forearms but was in fact a highly offensive gesture.

After getting over a small laughing fit, Kharn found himself being amazed at how much things had changed since his childhood. He would never have imagined having an asari friend while growing up. It just would not have been possible. The Hegemony would never have allowed it and he doubted that many of the other species would have wanted to accept them anyway. And yet, within his lifetime, batarian children were now growing up side by side with other species. The fact that the daughter of Shepard, a notoriously divisive figure among batarians, had batarian friends and understood their body language was amazing in and of itself.

Despite his worries about Karek there was something about T’soni that gave him hope. Maybe it was her own drive to see that the Confederation was cleared of carrying out Hunley’s assassination. To see an alien helping his people was still strange, despite what he saw when the Alliance gave aid to Khar’shan. It meant even more that she was essentially fixing his failure to contain his old friend. “Thanks for this, T’soni. For everything you’re doing.”

Eleena shrugged away Kharn’s thanks. “I mean. It’s kinda my job to keep the galaxy stable,” she said with a smile.

Kharn returned her smile while shaking his head at her quick dismissal of his thanks. “It may be your job but you’re helping me fix a mistake I made years ago.” He let out a sigh as he thought about his self-imposed exile on Omega.

After turning Karek and his followers over to Barcob’s security forces he had not been able to stay on Khar’shan. It reminded him too much of his friend and the years that they had spent serving together with SIU. And while he knew that Barcob was the key to a prosperous future for the batarians Kharn had still felt an incredible sense of guilt over betraying his friend.

He had also known that Karek would remember what he had done. Ever since Shepard had killed his family on Aratoht Karek had been different, vengeful and unwilling to let things go. And yet, despite knowing this, Kharn had gone to Omega, like a coward, and let his old friend run unchecked throughout the galaxy. This mess with the Confederation and the Alliance was as much his own fault, for failing to act, as anyone’s.

Seeing that T’soni was looking at him curiously, he gave her a sad smile. “I should have killed him when I had the chance and I didn’t. I just let him go and then, because I couldn’t face the fact that I had turned in my friend, I ran away.” He shook his head, disgusted with his past self. He had imprisoned and turned on many when he had worked for the Hegemony without any second thoughts. That had simply been the nature of his work with the SIU when in batarian space. And yet when it came down to the future of the species, he had been unable to completely turn on his friend. “But you’ve given me a chance to fix this and for that I thank you.”

Although she did not want to kill Brathor if it could be avoided, Eleena felt sympathy for Kharn’s position. His actions had fed into Brathor’s need for vengeance just like Shepard’s destruction of the Bahak system had. “You’re welcome, I think.” She paused and tried to think about what should happen to Brathor. He should be captured and made to stand trial for what the murder of Ambassador Hunley. But seeing Kharn and knowing that his past was eating away at him made her think otherwise. Maybe she would decide to step aside and let Kharn do what he needed to. Unsure what would end up happening she decided that she would deal with it when the situation finally arose. “Come on. We should get cleaned up before we reach Nasurn.”

* * *

 

- **Nasurn**

Eleena’s first thoughts about Nasurn was that she would hate to live there. It may have once been designed as a colony for salarian citizens to expand into the galaxy but now it was very much an economic center that had a great deal of money. And wherever there was a large concentration of money there were people that valued it as if it was their personal deity. She had grown to despise those sorts of people. They did not value people and often trampled others in an effort to make more money.

She remembered the time she had accompanied Lynora to Nevos to finalize some details regarding the Twin Moons Security Services. The planet itself was beautiful as were the resorts but the entire time Eleena felt as if something had gotten under her skin. Eventually she realized that it was all the people there. They gave off the appearance of enjoying the world’s beauty but the truth was that it was an act. They had been people of relatively high social status that were concerned with money. That status meant they had to pretend to enjoy the planet but Eleena could tell that none of them really saw it and were instead constantly concerned with their next business deal.

That and her time with C-Sec had made her develop a deep distrust of the powerful and wealthy. Too many people could get away with crimes because of their money and more often than not those with so much money did not care who they hurt to get their way.

Eleena supposed she was something of a hypocrite then for being in her relationship with Lynora. The former mercenary had become the founder and CEO of a successful security firm. Still Eleena felt that Lynora had not become blind with a desire for profits at any cost. Yes, she took jobs that were good for the business but she also cared for those people she employed. Not every CEO took the time to ensure that everyone from the armed security personnel to the people that cleaned the building were taken care of. She supposed that actually came from Lynora’s time with Eclipse. A single disgruntled member could spell disaster for a job.

There were likely many business people similar to Lynora but Eleena did not really care to give the business individuals she did meet the benefit of the doubt. She knew she should not be so quick to judge but she could not help herself. Maybe after she had lived for a few centuries then she would be able to view everyone more objectively and without bias.

Whatever might happen, she had work to do in the present. After applying a dye to herself, which she had to thank Nyssa for, Eleena had started to examine the meeting location that their unknown contact had provided them. The meeting itself was not for another galactic standard day but they had all agreed that they needed to conduct reconnaissance in preparation for the meet.

“Looks like that building is being renovated.”

Eleena did not react to the voice of Renee coming through her comms implant but carefully looked over the building indicated.

“Think you could provide overwatch from one of the empty floors?” Eleena asked while scratching her cheek.

“No problem. I’ll need another spotter with me though. Way too much open ground here for me to effectively keep track of alone. That’ll only give you one person on the ground to back you up if things go wrong.”

Eleena was not sure but she thought that she could hear something in Renee’s voice. But she could not quite identify what it was. Nyssa had said that Renee had been a sniper with the Alliance but had not given any additional details beyond the fact that Renee was willing to provide overwatch. The curious thing was that Nyssa had made it clear that Renee was only going to be using a spotting scope and she was not going to be behind a rifle during the meet. Eleena suspected that something traumatic must have happened to Renee, something that made her unwilling to look through a rifle scope again. Had it been so traumatic that Renee even worried about looking through a spotting scope?

Usually, Eleena would not have put Renee into this position. Not with the suspicions she had about Renee’s ability to perform. But out of all of them Renee was the one with the most experience in this sort of role and she would have another spotter with her.

“Alright. Take Nyssa.” She hoped that Nyssa’s presence would be a comfort and also keep Renee on task. “I’ll keep Kharn on the ground with me. There’s a terrace there that he can take a position on and keep an eye on what happens.”

“Lots of ways in and out here. Probably why your mystery contact picked it. Easy to slip away.”

“Probably,” Eleena agreed. “I just hope it pans out. If not then all we’ve got is the feeds from Elysium.”

“Speaking of which. “

Sighing, Eleena pinched her nose. She should have known this was coming.

“Oh, calm down.” Renee’s voice had her usual confident and playful tone to it. “Not going to out you or anything. Just wanted to ask when you got your ‘software’ since they aren’t exactly common.”

Knowing that it would be easier to just answer the question rather than avoid it, Eleena thought back to when she had first been contacted by the Consensus. “I must’ve been about eight maybe a bit younger. Visiting someone on Rannoch.”

That got Renee to pause in surprise. She had not expected Eleena to have been a literal child when the geth first approached her. “Why did you accept the ‘software’?”

Several amused sounding tone cues filled Eleena’s ear at that. The majority of her friends were still maintaining the connection with Elysium’s surveillance feeds but a handful were still with her and found Renee’s questions and reactions very amusing.

“You’re saying that as a kid you wouldn’t have accepted them?” Eleena asked a little incredulously. Children were incredibly curious creatures and she doubted very much that many would have said no if an AI or group of AI asked to be their friend.

“No. Probably not,” Renee admitted. Thinking on it, she probably would have been incredibly eager to share and show off her synthetic friends with her organic ones.

“I also might have been lacking in friends at the time. So, having them ask me to carry them around was an easy decision to make.”

Several sad tones came into her ear then. Her geth companions recalled how utterly alone Eleena had been at the time.

Thinking back to those days, Eleena was fairly certain that if it had not been for her geth friends she would not be alive today. On multiple occasions she had fallen into deep depression and could not see any point in living. But her friends had been there for her and had been able to get her help. Thanks to them she had been able to live long enough to make her close batarian friends on the Citadel. She also suspected that they had been responsible for finally tipping of her mother and father as to just how bad she had become. So, she supposed she had them to thank for the seven years of rehabilitation, education and training that Samara had given her.

“And you never told anyone? Seems like something that you’d want to share, especially as a kid.”

Renee’s question almost made Eleena laugh. She assumed then that Nyssa had not shared the details of their various conversations with Renee. If she had then Renee would have known that Eleena did not share things with her family even as a child. “I was asked not to so I didn’t.”

The shrug in Eleena’s voice was so obvious that Renee could almost see it. It made her shake her head in amazement. Information about someone carrying around geth would have instantly been classified as top secret bordering on a threat to galactic stability back before the reapers. How times had changed. “Still didn’t you ever think about how they were probably using you?”

An exasperated whine filled Eleena’s ear and she herself could not help but smile a little. “Of course they were and are still using me. I know that several of them were genuinely interested in me given my… lineage. But this was primarily an outreach of sorts and a means of gaining sympathy from younger people. Build a foundation for a peaceful future that sort of thing.”

“You mean there are others like you?” Renee was surprised at that. She should have anticipated that after all what use was a single person carrying about geth? But still she was surprised to think that there were other children, now adults, out there who had close ties with the geth Consensus.

“Of course there are. The foundation for peaceful coexistence wouldn’t really work all that well if the only person they reached out to was a sad and depressed asari.”

“I suppose not.” Renee reasoned that children were far more adaptable in their thinking than adults were. It made sense to start an outreach with people that would actually be receptive. Still it unnerved her to think that children across the galaxy had secret geth friends that they did not tell anyone about. But then she was an adult and had already developed most of her own thoughts and opinions on the galaxy.

“Any other questions? You seem more willing than some are to learn about them.”

Eleena’s remaining geth friends agreed. Renee was quite the receptive one. She had not shared the knowledge of their existence to others and seemed to be rather curious. They filed away the thought that she might be a friend to the Consensus.

Renee thought for a moment, tapping her fingers against her thigh. There were many questions she had. But as she went through them in her mind she realized that many of them were in the context of security. Old habits, she supposed. That really only left one question. She had never really been curious back in her Alliance days and had instead simply followed orders. But after leaving them and once she had finally met Nyssa she had developed a desire to try out and examine new things. “Do you think that they’d let me visit their station? I’ve no idea what I’d find there or even if I’d be able to comprehend it but I’d like to see them and what they’ve built.”

“Hm.” Eleena waited for her remaining friends to comment. She honestly had no idea what they might say. The Consensus station that was in orbit around Ran’noch did not often let organics aboard. As Renee had correctly inferred, it was difficult to comprehend for organics as it had been entirely built by synthetics. Still there were some overlap between organic and synthetics. She had learned that the geth had a surprising interest in music. They apparently found the mathematics of it and passion that it could evoke in organics to be fascinating.

A series of slow but encouraging tones began to flow through her ear.

“I think that there’s a possibility they’d let you visit. They’d have to take it to the Consensus but you’ve been more considerate to them than most people.”

A wide smile spread across Renee’s face. She had had her reservations about Nyssa taking this job with Eleena but things had so far gone smoothly and were even turning out to be of personal benefit to both herself and Nyssa. “Thank you. Let them know that I appreciate them thinking about it.”

An unexpected mechanical voice suddenly spoke into Renee’s ear. “You are welcome, Marana, Renee.”

Eleena couldn’t help but laugh as she heard Renee make a startled noise through their shared comms. “For the record, this is why I say that you guys are rude,” she muttered quietly so only her friends would hear. “Alright. You guys have had your fun surprising the human. Now let’s get back to work. We’ve still got a lot of ground to cover for tomorrow.”


	10. Chapter 10

**-Citadel**

Ati’ri and Tilsa sat together in the task force headquarters while going over the encryption that Eleena had recovered on Omega.

“No. I believe that you were right in your initial assumption.” Ati’ri said to Tilsa while examining the encryption. “This just… it feels salarian. The various different thought processes that it obviously took to make would be quite the achievement for anyone that is not adept in non-linear thinking. And there are also other subtler details to the code that indicates a salarian was, at the very least, the base architect of the encryption.”

Tilsa shook her head and spun about in her chair. “Well like I said this isn’t something used by the dominant clans but let’s assume that this is a salarian encryption. What would they gain from trying to kill Eleena?”

“That is the question is it not?” Ati’ri asked while watching their friend spin around in her chair. “What can you tell me about the assistant director’s current assignment?”

“Hm.” Tilsa gave her chair another spin as she thought. “Not a lot. I don’t even have all the details of what she’s doing. The boss is keeping things very quiet. Understandable, given that he thinks we have a leak. What I can say, broadly, is that she’s looking into what’s happening with the Confederation and Alliance. Guessing she and the boss found something they didn’t like with Hunley.”

Ati’ri nodded. They were well aware of the very delicate situation between the humans and batarians. They would be surprised if there were any in the galaxy that were not aware of the situation. The first major conflict in almost forty years was surely drawing the attention of many.

However, everything that Ati’ri had heard indicated that the task force was the only organization that was looking into the brewing conflict. And it also seemed that the task force was being very quiet in their investigation, only assigning a single agent to look into the situation. But then with the belief that the task force had a leak perhaps it was best that only the assistant director was assigned to the investigation.

But knowing that the task force suspected some sort of outside involvement into the death of the human ambassador Hunley did not offer an explanation for possible salarian involvement. Ati’ri could not see why someone within the Salarian Union might want to push for a war between humans and batarians. They also reminded themself that they did not know for sure that the encryption originated from a clan or individual within the Union. But perhaps that was a place to start.

“Do you have secure communications here?” They asked Tilsa, who was bouncing her leg while going back over the encryption.

“Of course.” Tilsa almost sounded offended at the question. “Who are you looking to talk to?”

“An old colleague and mentor. They were a part of the initial delegation that came to the Citadel before the reaper invasion.”

Tilsa was not sure where her friend was going with this but was eager for any lead that might help Eleena. “Come on. I’ll get us set up with a secure line. Is this colleague on Turvess?”

“Yes, they are.”

“Alright then. Let’s see what this gets us.”

* * *

 

- **Nasurn**

While waiting for the unknown source to appear, Eleena had taken a seat at one of several public tables set up in the middle of the plaza. She lifted a drink to her lips and pretended to take a sip while resisting the urge to tug at the suit she was wearing. Many asari still enjoyed their flowing dresses as standard business attire, they often caused other species minds to wander and gave the asari an edge in negotiations. But ever since humans had come onto the galactic stage suits had begun to grow in popularity among younger and even a handful of older asari. Eleena herself did not care for either but understood the need to maintain appearances, especially on a planet like Nasurn. Had she been in her usual long black coat, she would have stood out like a thresher maw in a hospital among all these business people.

Lowering a hand, she brushed it against the pistol that was hidden under her suit coat. Eleena missed the additional room for concealment her coat provided but was glad to have at least some of her equipment with her even if she hoped that she would not need to use them.

Taking a casual look at her omni-tool, Eleena saw that it was almost time for the source to arrive. She took another look at the entrances, exits and people in the plaza while pretending to be impressed by a luxury skycar that passed above. “Almost time. See anything?” she asked, quietly.

“Had a few salarians and a turian that were looking your way but from what I saw they were more interested in what an asari might do for them in bed than anything else.” Kharn said from his position across the plaza.

“Too bad for them as I prefer other asari,” Eleena muttered. “What about up top? Anything?”

“Nothing on my scope. I saw the turian but with how his mandibles were moving, Kharn was right. Not who we’re after.”

“Got a small group coming in from the north entrance,” Renee said over the comms. “See them?”

Nyssa adjusted her rifle to focus on this new group. “I’ve got them. Looks like business execs for the most part and some staff members. A few secretaries judging by how they’re still taking notes.”

Eleena brought her drink to her lips and looked over to the north entrance. It certainly appeared to be a group of business executives out to get a midday meal. “Looks like they’re heading your way, Kharn. Let us know if anyone stands out.”

“Will do.”

A tense silence soon fell over Eleena and her companions as they saw no sign of the mysterious source. Eleena herself was becoming anxious as she remained stationary in her seat. It took a great deal of self-control to maintain a neutral expression and to keep from gently bouncing her leg.

Needing something to do, Eleena started to play the old game that Samara had taught her. Her gaze moved from person to person and she tried to come up with quick explanations for their appearances, and presence in the plaza and on Nasurn.

Turian, female. Blue colony markings with hints of white. Definitely not a native to the planet. Her rather gaudy clothes indicated substantial wealth. Eleena suspected that a fair amount of it was inherited or at least had come easily rather than earned through hard work given the way she was treating what appeared to be her assistant. She likely worked for one of the major corporations that were located on or had a branch on Nasurn.

Salarian, male. A bright red skin tone. Heritage likely traceable back to the southern regions of Sur’Kesh where that coloring was most common. The clothing he wore was fashionable but of a different cut from most other salarians in the plaza. Likely from off world then where the fashion was slightly different. Perhaps finalizing a business deal in person.

Human, male. Actually wearing a tie. Definitely an Earth native then or at least someone with very close ties to the human homeworld. Eleena thought the human concept of a tie was utterly ridiculous given how easily it could be turned into a weapon against its wearer. Many humans apparently agreed as only a few traditionalists from Earth itself still used them with suits. Likely a very wealthy businessman then that was expanding his own financial interests.

Salarian, male. Common blueish skin tone. A possible native of Nasurn or at least a current resident, given how he was pointing things out to a companion. His clothes had a small clan marking on them that Eleena did not recognize. Perhaps he was representing his clan and Dalatrass by showing his companion around or it might be personal pride that caused him to wear the marking on his clothes.

Volus. Wearing an obviously expensive exo-suit. The coloring indicated an affiliation with the Elkoss Combine corporation. Eleena had heard reports that the Vol Protectorate had recently been negotiating with the Salarian Union. Perhaps the volus was part of the negotiating team from the Protectorate or they might be trying to negotiate with Aegohr Munitions or one of the other corporations on Nasurn.

“Heads up.” Renee’s voice came through on their shared comms.

Eleena’s eyes left an asari she had been examining and began scanning the crowd.

“You have a salarian approaching from your three o’clock. Sixty meters out.”

Something in Renee’s voice made Eleena frown. “What else are you seeing?”

“I’m not sure. Nyssa, take a look at him.”

Adjusting her rifle, Nyssa focused on the salarian that Renee had pointed out. As she focused her eye narrowed. Something was off. What was it?

“Guys?” Eleena could see the salarian approaching her. “What are you seeing?” Her hand drifted beneath the table to the pistol she was carrying.

Neither Renee or Nyssa could answer. Something was off but they could see what it was.

Eleena’s pistol unfolded as the salarian closed in on her. A crease formed between her eyes as she watched. Now that he was closer, she could see that there was indeed something off but she also could not identify what it was.

Before anyone could say something else Kharn’s voice cursed angrily over the comms. “It’s Karek.”

Immediately tensing, Eleena tightened her grip on her pistol.

“I have nothing on my scope.” Nyssa said as she scanned the plaza.

Renee was also looking over the plaza with her spotter’s scope. “I don’t see anything either.”

“Trust me. It’s him.” Kharn’s hand had drifted beneath his own clothes and to the pistol that he was carrying. “The salarian is a decoy. I recognize the tech. We stole the prototype from an STG lab years ago.”

Eleena felt that Kharn was discounting the possibility that STG had continued with the project but the possibility of STG moving in on her was just as terrible a thought as Karek and his people closing in on her.

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her targeting visor and after placing it over her eye began viewing the world as a combat geth platform did. A grid had come up and began highlighting possible threats all around her. The flow of data came at such a speed that most organics would not have been able to keep up with it. Thankfully she had trained and lived with geth for most of her life and was used to the quick flow of information.

The geth scanner instantly picked up on the salarian approaching her and confirmed that it was indeed a decoy. A few moments later it also picked up on an anomaly that was directly behind her.

Eleena tried to quickly stand and turn around but felt a strong resistance as if someone was pushing down on her shoulder. Before she could say anything, she felt the barrel of a gun press into her back.

“Please. Don’t get up.” A voice spoke close to her ear.

Gritting her teeth, Eleena lowered herself back into her seat.

“Good.” The voice said.

Eleena felt the gun barrel still pressed against her back and also felt what seemed to be a hand that reached down and pulled the thermal clip from her pistol. A cloak, she thought to herself as she was disarmed and kept in place. A small burst of static also indicated that her comms had just been cut off from her companions. “You’re with Brathor?”

Her question was met with silence and she thought that the gun barrel shifted slightly as if the person holding it had just tightened their grip.

“I am here, assistant director, because I don’t want my species to go extinct.”

There was a bitterness to the voice that was clear but Eleena was more interested in the possibility that evidence to clear the Confederation might actually be forthcoming. “Alright. So, what do you want with me? Seems the easy way to stop a war from starting between the Alliance and Confederation is to turn Brathor over to the task force.”

Although she could not see whoever was holding her at gunpoint, Eleena could sense that she had overstepped somehow.

“Don’t mistake my contacting you for what it isn’t T’Soni.” The voice said coldly. “I believe in what we were doing. I despise the Confederation and people like Dholla Barcob. They might be eager to forgive the atrocities committed against our species but I won’t. I can’t.”

Eleena remained silent as she took in what was being said and waited for the voice to continue.

After a few moments of silence, the voice continued. “The only reason I am here is to stop the Alliance from launching a campaign that would bring about my people’s extinction. But we can get to that in a moment. First you are going to tell your people to stand down. I don’t want interruptions.”

Carefully, Eleena nodded. “Fine but you’re going to have to open up my comms again.”

Nothing was said but Eleena’s comms suddenly came back to life. She could hear her three companions who were all worried about her sudden freezing and lack of responses to their calls. “I’m here. I need you all to maintain your positions.”

“What the hell is happening?” Nyssa’s worried voice came over their shared frequency as the loudest and most urgent.

“It’s alright.” Eleena said as calmly as she could while having a gun to her back. “It’s our contact not Brathor.” She added for Kharn’s benefit.

Nevertheless, Kharn started to object. “T’Soni I-”

“Kharn,” Eleena said firmly. “I need you to trust me on this. Just maintain your position and keep an eye out for STG or any other unwanted guests.” There was silence over the line and Eleena actually looked over to where Kharn stood. “Kharn?”

“Maintaining position,” he finally said.

“Holding position.” Nyssa and Renee both confirmed though they both spoke in a very uneasy way.

“Alright. I’ll be in touch.” Eleena then heard the familiar static as her comms were cut off but a small tone in her implant told her that her remaining geth friends had started to transmit the conversation she was having to her companions. “Ok. They won’t be interrupting us. So why am I here? I don’t have any other leads or proof that Brathor and not the Confederation was responsible for Hunley’s death.”

The voice snorted derisively. “I had you come here because despite your lineage you don’t seem to want my species extinction either.”

The jab at who her father was made Eleena bristle slightly in anger. “I am not my father.”

A faint chuckle came from behind Eleena at that. “Sensitive about your lineage, are you?”

Eleena clenched her jaw and did not rise to the bait.

“No matter. I also came here to see if you would actually show up and who you would bring with you.” The voice paused then but Eleena was certain that whoever it was was looking out across the plaza. “If I did not think he could help you I would have killed that traitor when he first entered the plaza. And I will admit I was surprised to see that you brought the double with you. I thought at first that it was the murderer herself.”

“Why am I here?” Eleena asked, stopping the voice from continuing on.

There was another pause and Eleena had the sense that the person behind her was sizing her up.

“I have evidence that will prove Barcob’s people were not involved with the Hunley’s death.”

That made Eleena’s pulse quicken. This was exactly what she had needed but had been unwilling to really let herself believe it would happen. She licked her lips and tried to keep the eagerness out of her voice. “What sort of evidence? And what do you want in return?”

“Source recordings and other files that show the Confederation was not involved in Hunley’s death. And what I want is for you to use the evidence to get the Alliance to back down.”

A small crease formed between Eleena’s eyes as she thought about this. It went unsaid but it was obvious that by giving up the recordings Brathor and his companions would still be free to continue targeting the Confederation itself. Although whoever this was would likely be killed or left abandoned after Brathor learned what had been done. “This will of course depend on the evidence itself. I’ll do everything I can to stop a war from starting but I need to see the evidence and then get it to the Citadel before anything can happen.”

Although they knew T’Soni could not see them the cloaked individual still nodded. “I will get you the evidence within the next standard day. Discuss this amongst your companions if you must but be at this location tomorrow.”

Eleena’s omni-tool glowed as the location was transmitted to it. She looked down at it but did not open up the message. There would be time for that later. Instead she opened her mouth wanting to ask a few more questions but her source spoke first.

“Be careful while on Nasurn, assistant director. There are other dangers here besides myself and those I care for.”

* * *

 

- **Citadel**

Ati’ri watched as the image of their old friend and teacher, Tai’ra, appeared before them.

“Ati’ri? It has been some time.”

“Far too long, Tai’ra.” Ati’ri inclined their head respectfully. They had always looked up to their mentor for their constant endorsement of helping others which was more than backed up by a long history of giving aid whenever possible. “I apologize for calling but I need your help.”

Tai’ra inclined their own head before speaking again. “There is nothing to apologize for. I will do what I can to aid your actions.”

“Thank you.” Ati’ri indicated Tilsa who was next to them. “A friend called for my assistance. She is working with the task force and found an encryption during an investigation. I suspect that it is salarian however she says that it does not match any encryption that is currently used by the dominant clans. I was hoping that you might examine it and see if it matches any of the dominant clans that you encountered when you first came to the Citadel.”

“Hm.” Tai’ra thought for a moment. It had been years since he had visited the Citadel as part of the first raloi delegation. But given that they had been assigned to the delegation in order to gather as much information as possible on the galactic community’s intelligence gathering apparatus and military strength their mind was well trained to retain such information. “I should be able to identify the encryption if it was in use at the time.”

Ati’ri again inclined their head. “Thank you for your assistance. Many may be aided if we can identify the ones using this.”

Tai’ra gave their old student a proud look. Ati’ri had always shown great promise. And the things that Tai’ra had heard of the task force made them think that it would be an ideal fit for Ati’ri. “You were never one for exaggeration. Please then, show me this encryption.”

“Of course.” Ati’ri motioned to Tilsa who then moved her hands over the terminal keyboard and forwarded the encryption that Eleena had recovered.

Upon receiving the message from Tilsa, Tai’ra immediately began to look over the encryption. It was immediately familiar to them but they had to be sure. “Please, wait one moment while I check something.”

As the pair waited, Tilsa could not help but chuckle at her friend. “It’s funny to see you being all proper and respectful. Why aren’t you ever like that with me?”

Ati’ri jabbed their beak at Tilsa, in response. “Because your ego does not need anyone being respectful or looking up to you.”

Tilsa dodged the jab and put on an expression of mock outrage. “How rude of you. My ego is not that big.”

“It is larger than the Citadel and would be larger if you were not friends with myself and others that can tolerate and keep it in check.”

The jabs continued in a playful way after that and only ended when Ati’ri’s feathers were uncomfortably ruffled and Tilsa’s pant leg had sustained a rather obvious cut from Ati’ri’s talons.

Tilsa was still laughing when Tai’ra returned, despite Ati’ri’s attempts to shush their friend and return them both to a presentable appearance.

Tai’ra’s pupils visibly dilated in amusement as he saw but did not comment on the state of his old pupil and their friend. “After conferring with an old friend, I have been able to confirm the origins of the encryption.”

Tilsa eagerly leaned forward at that. She would finally be able to let Eleena know that progress had been made on learning who had leaked her location.

“It is indeed a salarian encryption,” Tai’ra continued. “Apparently the clan fell from grace after the war but during our first contact they were the dominant clan in the Union.”

“Which clan was it?” Tilsa asked. She had been born into the post war world and so was not aware of the exact power structure of the Salarian Union during and before the war.

When Tai’ra gave the clan name, Tilsa felt as if the room’s temperature had dropped several degrees. She actually was familiar with the clan and the actions they had taken during and before the war. That they had fallen from power in the post war galaxy had been deemed by many as a victory for progress. The fact that they were apparently still active and trying to end Eleena’s investigation was deeply troubling.

Knowing that she had to go and see Caeldros with this information, Tilsa quickly thanked Tai’ra and almost ran to his office.

* * *

 

- **Nasurn**

It took her a while to get clear of the plaza where Eleena T’Soni and her companions remained but eventually Branya Ghan’ganak reached her stolen skycar and uncloaked herself.

She did not immediately take off even though she knew that she had to leave soon or risk Karek and the others growing suspicious. As she sat there in the skycar she became aware of the fact that she was shaking. She might have been able to sneer and prod T’Soni once or twice but that had only masked her feelings of disgust and self-loathing. Branya hated what she was doing. Karek had been the closest thing to a family she had had after they had been driven off of Khar’shan and here she was betraying him.

Her fists clenched and she tried to calm herself down. She knew that what she was doing was necessary. If Karek continued on his current path then their species would go extinct. Still that did not make her actions any easier.

After taking several deep breaths, Branya looked at her reflection in the skycar’s windshield. It was as if a stranger was staring back at her. Shaking her head, she wondered what her family would think of her actions. Her partner had always supported her and her decisions and their child had always adored her. Would they still look at her with love and adoration if they could see her now? She could barely look at herself and see who she had once been.

She had tried to overthrow the current batarian government, been exiled from Khar’shan, assassinated a human ambassador which had nearly started a war that would undoubtedly lead to the eventual extinction of the batarian species. And now she was seeking to undermine what her last remaining friends had worked for for years. When she had been younger she never would have thought any of those things were remotely possible. But then she had also thought that she would be able to grow old with her family too. Life was full of unexpected twists and tragedies it seemed.

Not wanting to think more about how her life had gone, Branya started the skycar and focused on returning to Karek and the others.

Before long she arrived at her destination and proceeded on foot to the safehouse. It was an uneventful walk but when she began to close in on the safehouse she paused. Something was wrong.

Looking around, Branya moved out of the view of several salarians before cloaking herself again. Now invisible to the eye, she proceeded with caution and a raised weapon. There should have been someone posted outside but a quick scan of the area revealed that none of her companions were there.

“Ceth, Oronya, where are you?” She spoke quietly so as not to alert the nearby civilians but still could not keep a note of worry from her voice.

To her immense unease there was no response. A sinking feeling began to overtake her but she remained calm and started going through the other channels that they used. Her feeling of unease quickly turned to dread as one by one the various channels yielded no responses.

Branya had no idea what had happened. Had Karek and the others learned about her actions and already moved on? No. That was paranoia. They did not know what she was doing with T’soni. But then what had happened? Why was no one answering her calls?

Cautiously, she entered the safehouse and started to search for her companions. The building seemed completely deserted and the silence caused her mind to think of worst case scenarios.

Pausing briefly before moving to another floor she found herself thinking that it was amazing her hammering heart was not causing the whole floor to shake. She swallowed hard and tightened the grip on her pistol before continuing on.

She was almost at the room that Karek and the others had been using as their main living space but had still not encountered anyone. Her hand reached out and the door to the room opened.

The sight that greeted her almost made Branya drop her weapon.

It reminded her of her time fighting the reapers. In those days it seemed as if a river of blood constantly ran through the streets and skyways of Khar’shan. Looking at the room it seemed as if a similar river of blood had flowed through it.

Shaking her head, Branya focused on the room. She had to look beyond the grizzly appearance. Information. The room was full of information.

Her four eyes narrowed as she looked at the blood spatter patterns. What had happened?

Gunfire. Someone had come in shooting.

But that initial advantage of surprise did not last long. She noticed that there was green blood in addition to the red that was splattered across the room. Salarians.

She cursed. Coming to Nasurn had been a terrible idea. Karek had thought that being able to expose their partner’s identity and give evidence to stop the conflict between the Alliance and Confederation would serve as protection. It seemed that he had miscalculated the ruthlessness of their partner.

Walking about the room, Branya began to put together a rough idea of what had occurred. The salarians had almost caught Karek and the others off guard. However, the sudden silence of the perimeter sentries had likely given them some warning that something was about to happen. The furniture and tables of the room had been hastily set up as barriers and cover. But judging by several burns on the floor and a faint smell that was still in the air the salarians had used flash grenades. That had given them an advantage but the cover that had been set up allowed the defenders to funnel their fire and kill or wound several of the attackers.

The details beyond that were difficult to make out but judging by the way blood was smeared across the floor the victors of the fight had dragged the bodies off somewhere. Whether or not those bodies had been dead or injured, she could not say. But judging by the amount of blood in the room several of her friends had undoubtedly been killed.

Closing her eyes, she said a short prayer from the Pillars of Strength. She had never been religious herself but knew that several of her friends were. It was for them that she spoke softly over the place they might have fallen.

Giving the room a final glance, Branya left. It had not yet hit her that she might now be all alone without any friends or family left in the galaxy but she was grateful for that. Breaking down now would not serve any purpose. She had to retrieve the evidence that she had hidden and get it to T’Soni as soon as possible. The longer she took the more likely it was that the salarians would track her down and try to kill her, thus eliminating the final person that could expose their involvement in the Hunley assassination and everything else Karek and his followers had done.

- **Osiris**

Eleena sat in the comms room rubbing at her crests and trying not to think about punching her father. She had just finished a call with Tilsa and Caeldros. When she first saw her friends, she had foolishly hoped that the call would make things easier for her. Instead it had done nothing but make her situation more complicated.

“So now what are we going to do?” Kharn asked.

“Not much we can do until our mystery contact calls again.” Eleena said in a tired voice. “And even then, we now have other things to deal with.”

Renee nodded gravely. “I’ve dealt with this clan before. They’re not to be underestimated. The Alliance constantly found them in our systems ever since we joined the galactic community. And their STG agents were unmatched in their adaptability, easily outperforming most of our special forces.”

“Wouldn’t most of the STG agents have moved on to the new ruling clan or bloodline?” Nyssa asked. She had been given a general understanding of the power structures of all the alien governments, militaries and intelligence organizations by Brooks but had primarily been focused on learning about Shepard and her crew.

“I’m afraid that’s rather complicated,” Renee said. “The dominant clans have the loyalty of the STG, they need it to maintain power, but people are still individuals and a shift in political power does not always mean that an entire organization will shift their own loyalties.”

Nyssa gave a small “ah,” of understanding. So, small pockets of STG agents likely remained loyal to fallen clans after shifts in power. Still, her understanding of the situation did not make her feel better about it. STG agents, even STG agents that were nearing the end of their typical forty-year lifespan, were still incredibly dangerous.

Eleena was only slightly paying attention to Renee and Nyssa as her own mind was stuck on how action’s taken by her father were making this bad situation worse. It was not that she thought her father’s actions had been wrong, she herself would have likely supported those decisions. What bothered her was the lack of accountability for those actions.

Thoughts about Shepard might have continued had Kharn not started listening to the conversation Eleena’s geth friends had recorded of her and the mystery contact.

Two of Kharn’s eyes narrowed as he listened to the slightly distorted voice of their unknown source. When he first listened to the conversation he had been too concerned with the possibility that Karek was close by and had not paid too much attention to the person talking to Eleena. But something about the speech pattern and the emphasis put on certain parts of words had scratched something in his mind. It seemed familiar to him.

“What is it?” Eleena asked upon seeing Kharn’s expression.

“I’m not sure.” Kharn grabbed a headset to better listen to the recording.

Both Nyssa and Renee had stopped their own conversation about STG and the Salarian Union in order to pay attention to Kharn.

Pressing the headset to his ear, Kharn replayed several of the recorded lines of conversation. He was certain that he did know who this was.

Eleena was waiting patiently to see what Kharn might get from the recording when her omni-tool flashed. Frowning, she stood and walked out of the room to give Kharn room to work. “Yes?” she answered.

“I have the evidence but I’ve run into a problem.”

Spinning around, Eleena waved at the others to stop what they were doing and then transferred the call to the Osiris’ systems. “What sort of problem?” Eleena asked.

“Our safehouse was raided.” The voice spoke in a calm manner but there was a tension to it as if the speaker was slightly out of breath. It was also natural and not distorted.

A flash of recognition suddenly appeared on Kharn’s face. “Branya?”

There was a pause on the line and Eleena was about to give Kharn a warning look to not interrupt again when the voice spoke again.

“I was surprised to see you earlier today Kharn. I had thought you had fled to Omega to die like a coward.” Branya responded coldly.

The scar on Kharn’s face suddenly felt sore and he worked hard to keep from raising a hand to it. “Not as surprised as I am now. Why would you ever turn on Karek?”

“Talk with T’Soni.” Branya said dismissively. “Everything I told her was the truth, whether you believe that or not.”

Eleena waved her hand to cut Kharn off from continuing with another question. “You said your safehouse was raided. Who did it and are you safe right now?”

Branya let out a dark chuckle then. “Until we’re out of salarian space none of us are going to be safe. And even then, these salarians still have a long reach. They managed to infiltrate your task force and they tracked your movements to Omega, after all.”

Confirmation that there was a mole in the task force after all might have been cathartic as it confirmed her suspicions but all it made her feel was cornered. Beyond talking with Caeldros and Tilsa she really was on her own without any backup that could be trusted.

Putting her sense of unease aside, Eleena focused on the issue at hand. “Where are you now? We’ll come to you and escort you and the evidence off-world.”

“Not a good idea to come to where I am now. Pretty sure that STG is on my trail. I know you’re at the port of Aeghor so I’ll make my way there. Just make sure that your ship is ready to leave.”

Eleena looked to Nyssa, who nodded and left to prep the Osiris for takeoff.

“Alright we’ll be ready. Kharn and I will also provide cover for you as you head through the port. Hopefully STG won’t be too close behind you.”

“Don’t count on it. I’ll be there within the hour.” Branya then ended the call.

Turning the holo table on, Eleena brought up an image of the port.

Leaning in, Kharn pointed to two positions. “We’ll set up here and here. It’ll give us the best field of fire and should let us cover her.”

“Agreed.” Eleena then noticed that Kharn’s fist was clenched. Reaching out, she put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve no idea what your history with this Branya is but we need the evidence she has.”

Kharn nodded silently and couldn’t help but reach for the scar on his face. “I know.” His mind went to what Branya had said. Her safehouse had been raided. He did not need to ask what that meant for Karek and the others. If STG had found them then they were almost certainly dead or captured. That knowledge caused various conflicting feelings in his head. He knew that with Karek and the others gone that the Confederation and the future for the batarian species would be much more secure. But Karek had still been his friend just as all the others had been and knowing that they were dead made him feel a deep sense of regret. What might their lives have been if they had given the Confederation a chance? What might their lives have been if the Bahak system had not been destroyed? Useless questions to ask but they still stuck in his head all the same.

- **Port of Aeghor**

It did not take long for Eleena and Kharn to get set up. Nyssa had given them access to her armory which contained a vast variety of weapons and enough thermal clips to run a small war. Now they were both waiting in their vantage points, constantly scanning the port for any sign of Branya or STG.

Fortunately, the port was being staffed by a skeleton crew and the automated systems. Unfortunately, the sun was beginning to set and visibility was growing difficult.

Switching her scope to night vision, Eleena again surveyed the port. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She had even brought out her geth scanner to check for cloaked individuals but so far nothing had been detected.

“You do know she might be playing us,” Kharn said over the comms.

“If she is then I need to congratulate her on coming up with such a convoluted means of getting us here.” Eleena knew that Kharn did not trust Branya, he had not exactly kept it a secret as they were moving to their current positions. But Eleena needed him to at least see how things played out because if Branya did indeed have evidence then they could stop the conflict between the Alliance and Confederation from starting.

Kharn did not respond. He understood T’Soni’s position. She had to pursue leads where she could and being on her own she could not afford to pass up this opportunity. Still, he was not sure that he trusted Branya. But then maybe he was prejudice given just how hard she had tried to kill him.

“Kharn?”

“We’ll hear her out.” He finally said. “If she has the evidence then we’ll take it to the Citadel.”

Eleena did not comment on how he did not say they would bring Branya to the Citadel as well.

Silence fell between them as they continued to wait for Branya to show up.

Checking her omni-tool, Eleena saw that the hour window Branya had given them was coming to a close. Where was she? Had STG caught up with her?

The minutes continued to tick by until it was a quarter of an hour past Branya’s window.

A feeling of immense disappointment began to settle on Eleena. She had desperately wanted this lead to work out. Nothing else had panned out and if she could not find something then the Confederation was looking at military retaliation for something they had not done.

“I’ve got movement.”

Kharn’s voice snapped Eleena out of her low and she was again alert and scanning the port. It took a moment but she found what Kharn had. “Can you get a positive identification?”

“Not yet. I need them to get closer to confirm it’s Branya.”

It was then, as they were both waiting to see who the figure was, that gunfire began to ring out.

Eleena instantly turned her rifle to the muzzle flash and fired, the report of her rifle masked by a flash and sound suppressor. She could hear someone cry out in pain but she had already moved to the next target that had started moving into the port.

As the gunfire began to erupt from multiple positions, Kharn cursed but kept his attention on the figure he had been tracking. Whoever they were they were still moving but it looked as if they had been hit by one of the initial shots. He could hear the muffled sounds of T’Soni’s rifle and left her to try and pick off the attackers. He needed to confirm that the figure was Branya.

The geth scanner that Eleena had brought with her was now pinpointing targets that had moved close enough to be detected. At least seven hostiles with more approaching. Bad odds if they could get a line on herself or Kharn. Adjusting her rifle, she fired and caused a second person to cry out. She gritted her teeth in frustration. Surprise had been on her side for a few seconds but now the attackers realized that there were others around besides their target. Most were now taking cover by the various shipping containers and equipment that littered the port while others were trying to pinpoint her position.

Kharn tore his gaze away from the figure, who was keeping to the shadows, and to the attackers, who were starting to zero in on T’Soni’s position. Silently cursing, Kharn pulled the trigger on his own rifle and caused one of the attackers to fall back, dead. “Nyssa, we’ve engaged hostiles. Better get ready for launch, we’re going to be leaving here one way or another now.”

“Shit! Copy that. Engines are coming online.”

Satisfied that their escape route was going to be ready for them, Kharn returned his gaze to the figure. Come on, he urged. Show me your face. I just need a second. Worry suddenly crept into his mind as he heard T’Soni curse.

“Ow! Fuck! They’ve found me. I’m displacing.”

“Understood.” Kharn said while turning his rifle to the attackers. Pulling the trigger, he tried to force them to stay in cover so that T’Soni would have time to change positions. “Be aware, I have not confirmed that that was Branya. I say again, I do not have a positive identification on Branya.”

Eleena winced as shots continued to land all around her, despite Kharn’s assistance. “Roger that.” Forgoing subtlety, Eleena leapt from her perch and at the last second cushioned her fall with biotics. Pulling out a machine pistol she took cover and started firing the unsuppressed weapon to draw attention away from the figure that she hoped was Branya.

Pulling the rifle’s trigger twice, Kharn saw another of the attackers, who were now close enough to be recognized as salarians, fall to the ground. Hearing T’Soni start firing an unsuppressed weapon he knew she was pulling attention to herself so he turned back to the mystery figure. Whoever it was, they were struggling to keep moving. It seemed that they had indeed been shot. Cursing, Kharn took another look at the whole situation and made a decision. “I’m going to pick them up. They’ve been hit and if it’s Branya she’ll need medical attention now.”

“Do it!” Eleena shouted over the sound of her own and the attackers’ weapons.

Collapsing his rifle, Kharn made his way to the ground. The continued weapons fire seemed to be moving closer but he could also hear that the engines of the Osiris were now warmed up and ready for takeoff. Pulling out his own pistol, he ran for the injured figure.

It took longer than he wanted but Kharn finally reached the figure only to be greeted by a gunshot. Diving for cover, Kharn resisted the urge to return fire. “Hold your fire, damn it!”

“Kharn?”

Recognizing the voice, Kharn let out a low growl but kept from shooting Branya. “Yes, it’s me.” Standing, he rushed to her and saw that she was clutching her side in an attempt to stem a flow of blood. “Damn it,” he muttered. Raising his omni-tool, he quickly applied some medi-gel. “That’ll have to do for now. Come on. We need to get out of here.”

Despite the situation, Branya managed to chuckle as she moved with Kharn to the Osiris. “Always thought you’d try to kill me the next time we met.”

“Don’t push your luck. I still might once we get a look at your evidence.”

Smiling, Branya shook her head in amusement. “You always were a charmer.”

Kharn ignored her and instead spoke to T’Soni. “I’ve got Branya but she needs medical attention. We’re heading to the Osiris now.”

Relief washed over Eleena as she heard Kharn’s words. “Good. I’ll be right behind you.” Ducking behind cover, she reloaded her weapon and started moving towards the Osiris herself but then she heard something that made her heart stop. Looking up she saw a shuttle flying in and heading towards the Osiris. “Fuck! Nyssa, tell me you have weapons on that thing!”

Nyssa’s voice had an obvious note of frustration and worry to it. “Not for ship to ship combat! If that shuttle opens fire, we’re grounded!”

“Damn it.” Eleena’s mind raced as she tried to remember everything she could about salarian shuttles. Like every modern ship, they used an eezo core. If she could breech it then she could bring it down. Easier said than done.

“T’Soni! That shuttle is in our way! We can’t make the Osiris!” Kharn was shouting from his position with Branya.

Clenching her fist, Eleena turned her back on the approaching salarians to face the shuttle. Her rifle unfolded and she aimed at a panel on the side of the shuttle. Flicking her wrist, she used her biotics to create a small but concentrated warp on the panel. She then began to repeatedly pull the rifle’s trigger in an attempt to damage the panel and let the rapidly shifting mass effect fields of her warp get closer to the shuttles drive core.

Gunfire was flying all around her and Eleena knelt to present a smaller target and steady her rifle.

Come on, come on, she pleaded as she pulled the trigger again and again.

Wincing, she braced herself as a shot grazed her.

She could hear both Kharn and Nyssa shouting over their comms but her mind was focused on bringing down the shuttle.

The rifle’s thermal clip overheated and she had to quickly replace it.

The shuttle’s weapons had started to fire and were targeting the Osiris’ engines.

Please work, please work.

And then, finally, there was a flash of bright blue and the back of the shuttle exploded.

Kharn and Nyssa were again speaking but Eleena was not paying attention. She dropped the rifle and with her machine pistole started to fire at the approaching salarians who were nearly on top of her. They were going to overrun her if she did not move.

Keeping her head down, Eleena ran. She tried to head towards the Osiris but had to abruptly change course when the shuttle crashed and blocked her way.

“T’Soni!? T’Soni!?” Kharn was shouting.

“Yeah?” She asked while still running. In the opposite direction of the Osiris, she realized.

“We’re all aboard. Just waiting on you.”

Looking around, Eleena had no idea what to do. “I’m cut off. They’re between me and the Osiris.”

“Damn. Hang on, I’m heading your way.”

It was then that Eleena saw something that filled her with dread. Another two shuttles were entering the port. “Takeoff now! You have another two shuttles coming in!”

Kharn and Nyssa began to voice protest over the comms but Eleena shouted them down. “Go now! Get the evidence to the Citadel! You can trust Septilus Caeldros and Ronoka Tilsa! Now go!”

The comms remained silent and Eleena silently begged her companions to takeoff. It was with relief that she heard the Osiris lift off from it’s position.

With the evidence aboard the ship, her mind then turned to more immediate concerns. Her omni-tool glowed and sent an emergency transmission to the fleeing Osiris, transferring all of her files and information to the ship, including the few geth friends that were not still in the surveillance systems on Elysium. With everything transferred away, the omni-tool sparked and destroyed itself. She tossed it away and pulled out her knife. Grimacing, she brought it to the side of her head and cut out her comms implant which had also been modified by the Consensus.

Biting her tongue, she refrained from cursing when she heard the salarians searching for her. Taking off her targeting visor she silently warped both it and her implant. Satisfied that there was nothing that could be traced back to the Consensus, she silently made her way through the port.

Trying to avoid the searching salarians was proving to be incredibly difficult. They were highly experienced STG agents and Eleena had little doubt that they would find her no matter what she did.

Almost as if it had been waiting for her to think that, a spotlight from one of the shuttles fell on her.

Exposed, and with the salarians on the ground now moving towards her, she ran.

Firing her machine pistol, she tried to keep the salarians from getting too close. Unfortunately, that was not nearly enough to keep the shuttles off of her.

One shuttle maintained the stoplight on her while another swooped in to cut her off.

With the side of the shuttle looming in front of her, Eleena collected herself and used biotics to aid her in a controlled jump over the shuttle that was in her way.

Unfortunately, she could not see that the shuttle’s side door, that she had just landed in front of, had been open. Her body suddenly spasmed and fell to the ground as electricity flowed through her.

As her body lay jerking on the ground a number of salarians approached and surrounded her.

“Dose her.” A voice spoke from somewhere above her. “The Dalatrass will want to question this one herself.”

That was the last thing Eleena heard before a needle was stuck into her neck and the world went black.


	11. Chapter 11

- **Osiris**

Resisting the urge to punch the bulkhead, Nyssa angrily left the cockpit and headed to the Osiris’ medical bay.

Eleena was gone. Left behind. Abandoned.

Nyssa’s mind flashed back to that day years ago. Shepard had just been pulled up from the Normandy’s boarding ramp by her friends. Desperately, Nyssa had looked over to Brooks. Surely, Brooks would come to her aid. But instead, Nyssa had her world shattered as she watched Brooks turn her back and walk away.

Her fist shook as she was wracked with guilt. How could she have done that to Eleena? How could she have left her behind? And now it was far too late to fix that mistake.

Reaching the medical bay, Nyssa found who she was looking for and felt an old feeling of disgust and anger. The disgust and anger towards aliens had never really been her own genuine feelings but in her current mood she embraced them all the same.

Brushing Kharn aside, Nyssa grabbed hold of Branya, who had been on one of the beds, and slammed her against a wall.

“Damn it, Nyssa!” Kharn shouted as medical equipment was sent skidding across the deck and an IV was yanked from Branya’s arm.

Branya squirmed as she struggled against Nyssa’s grip. “Starting to feel… less than welcome here.” Branya managed to say while catching her breath.

“Good,” Nyssa snarled. “We just left someone behind because of you. So that evidence you have had better be worth it.”

Despite being in a very precarious position, Branya could not keep from mocking this Shepard look alike. “We? I didn’t know that a ship this size needed more than one pilot. I think it’s more accurate to say that you left someone behind.”

Nyssa’s eyes flashed and her hand moved to strike at Branya’s gunshot wound when something held her arm in place.

“Enough.” Kharn said, while tightly holding Nyssa’s arm. “As much as I would love to indulge you, beating her won’t solve anything. You want to help? Go see Renee. I’ve already given her Branya’s evidence.” His gaze then shifted his gaze to Branya. “And you. She isn’t Shepard, so save your taunting for someone else.”

Wrenching her arm free, Nyssa glared at Branya before turning and leaving the medical bay.

Branya slid down the wall slightly before Kharn caught her. “Wonderful companions you’ve found,” she muttered.

Kharn led her back to the bed and returned to treating her wounds. “As if you or I would be any better in her position.” He glanced back at the entrance to the medical bay and hoped that Renee would be able to calm Nyssa. He had seen how Nyssa and Eleena had managed to strike up a friendship despite some initial awkwardness at Nyssa being a genetic copy of Eleena’s father. Truthfully, he thought that they had managed to bond so easily because of their shared frustration with Shepard. Focusing on Branya’s wound, he could only hope that the loss of Eleena would not cause too many problems for Nyssa because they still had to do something with Branya’s evidence if the Confederation and batarians as a species were to avoid annihilation by the Alliance Navy.

-

Renee was rubbing her temples as she sat in the comms room. She was supposed to be going over the evidence Kharn had given her but she had been focusing more on the burst transmission that they had received in the process of leaving Nasurn. The transmission had initially confused and worried her as she did not know who could have sent it directly to the Osiris’ systems. But upon seeing the contents of the transmission she understood that it had been sent by Eleena and that she had sent it so they would not come back for her.

So far, Renee had found numerous files and notes regarding the work Eleena had been doing regarding Karek Brathor and the conflict that was brewing between the Alliance and Confederation. There were also a number of notes regarding her suspicions of a mole being in the task force along with access codes and means of secure communication with select task force agents that she trusted.

Although Renee understood that Eleena had purposely reduced her own value, she still felt guilty about leaving her behind. She thought about how she had felt after being left behind by the Alliance and hoped that, if Eleena survived, the young asari would not grow to resent herself, Nyssa and Kharn.

Shaking her head, Renee returned her focus to the few remaining files that Eleena had sent. There was secure contact information for several individuals on Omega as well as records of conversations between Eleena and Nyna T’loak. She also found a partially completed message to a Lynora Morix that she stopped reading once she realized the personal nature of the message. That left only only two remaining files. Going through them, Renee could feel her eyes water slightly.

Before they had traveled to Nasurn, Nyssa had told Renee about Eleena’s offer of an immunity deal in addition to the monetary funds that had already been paid. Both of them had been moved by the asari’s offer but, while they were both incredibly hopeful at the possibility of not having to hide from the Systems Alliance anymore, they both remained skeptical that it would happen. However, looking over the two files Renee saw that Eleena’s deal had in fact been sent to the task force director and that Septilus Caeldros had approved it.

Renee started to silently cry. She might have resented and even hated the Alliance after the war but that did not mean she had not left people behind in Alliance space. Being able to see them again without leaving Nyssa behind, actually being able to show Nyssa old places and people that had been important to her, it was like a dream.

She choked with laughter as she thought about how Eleena T’Soni had been responsible for making this deal. The daughter of the person that had unintentionally caused Nyssa so much pain. Life apparently enjoyed such odd situations. She rubbed at her eyes to wipe away tears and continued to laugh when she thought about how she had initially wanted Nyssa to turn down the job T’Soni had presented.

Renee had been so distracted that she had not even heard the door open and Nyssa walk in. It was only when she felt a timid hand on her shoulder that she realized she was no longer alone. “Wha- Oh. Sorry.” She tried to compose herself but realized that her appearance was obviously not going to get better without washing her face.

“Are you alright?” Nyssa asked as she took a seat next to Renee.

Smiling through her tears, Renee just motioned to the open files she had been going through.

Looking to the files, Nyssa began to read through them. When she had finished reading both Eleena’s request and Septilus Caeldros’ response, she found herself breathing heavily and trying to contain a host of strong feelings. She could not believe what she was looking at. It was a way out. A way for her to live without fear of showing her face and being hunted by the Alliance.

Of course, her feelings of relief and joy at being able to live her life were tempered with the knowledge that she had left the person responsible on Nasurn to an uncertain fate. She held her head in her hands and felt her eyes water slightly. It had been almost forty years since she fell from the Normandy into the bowels of the Citadel. Every minute of her existence since then had to be carefully calculated so she would not draw too much attention to herself. And while Renee was a tremendous help, the stress of living underground and hiding for so long had, on several occasions, made Nyssa wonder if her life was really worth living.

“I didn’t know she actually went through with the paperwork already,” Nyssa said quietly. “Her offer… well you know how I felt. I couldn’t believe it.” Her hands shook as she considered the possibility that Eleena was dead and that this had been one of the last things she had done. She struggled for a moment to find her voice again but eventually recovered enough to speak. “Kharn… he said… he said you had Branya’s evidence.”

Renee silently nodded, still being troubled by her own thoughts about what might have happened to Eleena, and plugged the OSD Kharn had given her into a datapad that she then handed to Nyssa.

Taking the datapad, Nyssa started going through everything contained on the OSD. The very least that she could do right now was ensure that what Eleena had been working on was finished. After that, well after that she would be a free woman. But what would Eleena be? She was very aware of the possibility that Eleena had been killed but if she had been captured then she would cease to be of value the instant this evidence was brought to light.

Nyssa put the datapad down for a moment and rubbed her temples. She could not think about what might happen to Eleena right now. That would only lead to more guilt and prevent her from functioning efficiently. Taking a steadying breath, she put her thoughts of Eleena away and put all her focus on the evidence before her.

It seemed that Branya had been as good as her word. The OSD contained various source files which could be used to show how the evidence against the Confederation had been fabricated. There were also conversations showing Karek Brathor and his former SIU agents planning to assassinate ambassador Hunley. Along with testimony from Branya it all was at least enough to force the Alliance to hold off on any further military action against the Confederation and with time it could lead to the complete clearing of the accusation that the Confederation had assassinated the ambassador.

Renee agreed that the evidence would force the Alliance to at least pause any military action that they might have been planning. She also gave Nyssa the access codes and secure lines of communication that Eleena had sent them.

Even though she knew it had to be done, Nyssa still felt uneasy about contacting the director of the task force. Septilus Caeldros might have been the one to sign off on her immunity deal but he was still part of a government organization with law enforcement abilities and Nyssa had made it a habit to avoid such people for almost forty years. But it had to be done.

Using Eleena’s information, Nyssa managed to set up a secure line of communication to director Caeldros. Clasping her hands behind her back, she did not want him to see that they were shaking with nerves, she greeted the old turian. “Director.”

Septilus was unable to keep his mandibles from fluttering in confusion. This was a dedicated line that only a select number of agents had access to. The fact that the person who called also had the face of the legendary Claire Shepard did not help his initial confusion either. But he recovered quickly as he recalled everything that Eleena had told him. This was the clone that Cerberus had made of Shepard and the person that had been assisting Eleena in her assignment. “You are Nyssa, I take it.”

Nyssa realized her mouth had gone dry but pushed past it. “I am. Your assistant director recruited me to assist in her investigation.”

That much Septilus already knew. What was currently worrying him now however was that Nyssa and not Eleena was contacting him. “And where is my assistant director?”

At that, Nyssa bit her lip and looked away from the holographic image of Septilus Caeldros. “I can’t say. We were on Nasurn following a lead when…” Her voice faltered slightly as she remembered the firefight, the Osiris taking fire from the salarian shuttle and then Eleena telling them to leave. She cleared her throat and started again. “We were waiting for a possible source of information to arrive but when they did they were attacked by salarians. Eleena was providing cover while someone else secured the source.” Her fist clenched in anger then. She should have been on the ground with Eleena and Kharn. Maybe then Eleena would not have gotten cut off.

“Did the source manage to provide you with anything relevant to T’Soni’s assignment?” Septilus asked. He was well aware of what had likely happened to his young friend but did not want to face that just now. He would deal with the guilt of having given her this assignment later.

Licking her lips, Nyssa nodded. She had started to falter again and was grateful that Caeldros was keeping things professional and to the point. “We have a great deal. It should be enough to make the Alliance wait on any action they might be planning and after going through an authentication process the evidence we have should then be enough to clear the Confederation of any wrongdoing.”

Despite having to face the fact that his friend and protégé was likely dead or captured, Septilus could not help but feel a sense of pride in her work. Eleena always could produce results even back at C-Sec where her abilities had been wasted. “She always was dependable,” he mused.

Seeing the fond look on his face, Nyssa wondered just how close Eleena had been with Caeldros. Had they been friends? She did not know.

Refocusing, Septilus returned to the matter at hand. “Where are you now? And can you make it to the Citadel?”

“We’re still in salarian space but I can get us to the Citadel with only a few FTL and relay jumps.” Nyssa said after a brief mental calculation of the space lanes.

“Alright.” Septilus began putting together a priority docking request for both C-Sec and the Citadel Fleet. “Can you give me the identification for your ship? I don’t want it held up by customs or anything else. We need that evidence.”

“It’s an old Alliance class corvette, current designation is the Osiris. I’m forwarding all the relevant information.” Nyssa said as she started typing on a holographic keyboard.

Looking at his own terminal, Septilus waited for the information to appear and nodded when it had. “Alright I’ve got it. You’ll have priority clearance.”

Nyssa inclined her head in understanding but couldn’t keep from worrying. Making it from the docks to the task force headquarters would put herself and the others out in the open. And with the way batarians were currently being treated, she did not want to run into a mob and put Kharn or Branya at risk. “Director, I know that you went through with the paperwork on the deal that Eleena made but… well I don’t exactly have an unremarkable face and two of my companions are batarians. Even if I apply makeup and prosthetics to myself the others won’t be able to move without drawing attention. Do you have agents that you can trust to help escort us to the task force?”

Septilus’ mandibles moved slowly as he considered that. Eleena had obviously told Nyssa that there was a possible leak in the task force and that was dangerous. If he chose the wrong agents to provide protection then the evidence could be lost. “I will have to do some vetting but I will get you additional protection. We can’t afford you being recognized or have a mob form and attack your companions. The Confederation embassy has already been swarmed and attacked more than once since Hunley was killed.”

News of the embassy attacks had come up on Nyssa’s feeds and after the initial gut reaction of satisfaction and pleasure at aliens being attacked she had felt a deep sympathy and desire to help. She knew that she would not be able to help those injured in the attacks that had already happened but she might be able to stop future attacks from happening. “Thank you for your help and…” Her voice faltered as she thought of Eleena. She remembered the fear that she had had when Eleena had initially given her the job offer, the mixed emotions she felt as she tried to deal with her desire for family and close relationships, the joy at being offered immunity for her assistance, and now with Eleena gone what she had was the feeling of loss. “I’m sorry about Eleena. I don’t know how close you were with her but she has been good to me, better than most people I’ve run into. So, I’m sorry that I couldn’t do more for her.”

Despite his age, which had long since allowed him to keep his emotions in check, Septilus felt a rush of sorrow. He could try to delude himself that Eleena would find a way to escape but the fact was that if she had been captured by rogue STG agents then she would be as good as dead the moment the evidence was brought to light. He gave Nyssa a sad but resigned look. “I’m sure it wasn’t your fault. And once we have the evidence secured I’ll try to search for her but… well we both know that her odds will only get worse once we clear the Confederation. Though we still don’t know why they were aiding Brathor and the others.”

Nodding sadly, Nyssa knew that the turian was right. The chances of recovering Eleena alive were minimal and would only get worse as time went on. Still, she was good at finding people. She had had almost forty years to master that particular skillset. Perhaps when the evidence had been secured, she would be able to pick up Eleena’s trail? She could hope. But for now, she had work to do. “Thank you, director. I will see you on the Citadel.”

* * *

 

- **Condemned** **STG black site: Sur’Kesh**

When Eleena finally awoke, she noted a few things: the first was that she was naked, the second was that she had been restrained on some sort of examination table and the third thing was that there were several sensors and needles with IVs running from her body to a variety of machines all around her.

_Not good_ , she thought worriedly as she found that the restraints did not allow for any movement and that the room had active biotic dampeners.

“Good, you’re awake.” A voice spoke from somewhere off to Eleena’s side.

Eleena tried to put on a neutral expression but she was certain that the machines around her could easily detect her elevated heart rate.

A female salarian in a practical yet clearly decorative robe stepped into view. “It’s strange just how similar a child is to their parents. Your father also caused a great amount of trouble for my clan.”

“And you would be?” Eleena asked, knowing the answer.

The salarian, who would be slightly shorter than Eleena if they were both standing, seemed to tower over her while she was restrained to the exam table. “I am Dalatrass Linron.”

Despite knowing who the salarian must have been Eleena’s heart still sank at the confirmation of her identity.

“Your father caused my clan a significant amount of trouble during the war. We lost influence and resources because Shepard decided to side with those brutes on Tuchanka.” The Dalatrass spoke with an obvious anger to her voice despite the outward calm that her body presented. “Had it not been for the relay blackout my predecessor would have been able to keep your sire’s decision from causing such dramatic ripples. I would have preferred to deal with her but it seems that I will have to settle for you. It is not as if you have no caused problems for me yourself.”

“I don’t suppose you’d tell me why it is you’ve been trying to destroy the Confederation?” Eleena asked while ignoring the talk about her father. She was already in a dire situation and did not need to make it worse by discussing Shepard and her part in the exposure of the Linron’s attempt to sabotage the genophage cure.

“No, I don’t suppose I would.” The Dalatrass said while checking over some of the needles and tubes that were attached to Eleena’s body. She then nodded to someone else that Eleena could not see. “You however are going to tell me where your friends have gone and who else knows about our involvement.”

Eleena clenched her jaw and intended to give the Dalatrass a scathing response when her arm twitched at the feeling of something being injected into her body. Turning her eyes to her arm, Eleena could just see that one of the IVs connected to her arm was indeed pumping some sort of liquid into her body.

“Something that we developed specifically for your species,” the Dalatrass said casually. “Given your biology you metabolize most asari tailored truth serums far too quickly for them to take effect. However, this will slow your metabolism and allow us to have an honest conversation.”

Real fear began to take hold of Eleena then. She was familiar with physical torture, it was utterly ineffective when it came to reaching the truth but was still widely used by many in the galaxy. Chemical based questioning however was something that she could not defend or hold out against. If what the salarians were giving her really did slow her metabolism then she would almost certainly be forced to give up everything she knew.

The Dalatrass smiled faintly as she saw the flicker of fear on Eleena’s face. She found herself wishing her mother could have been here for this. It would have been better if they could have broken Shepard herself as she had been responsible for the clan’s fall but there would still be some catharsis in breaking Shepard’s offspring.

Although she already knew that it would do nothing, Eleena still strained against her restraints. It was the only thing she could do in her position. And so, her muscles tensed as she tried to pull against her bonds which still held her securely to the exam table.

Seeing the asari struggle amused the Dalatrass. It was like watching a small animal squirm in the talons of a bird of prey. There was no hope and yet the creature still resisted if only because it was the only action left to it. “We will speak again soon,” she said with a smile. Turning to one of her agents she made sure that he would call her once the asari was ready for questioning.

-

After the Dalatrass left, Eleena’s remaining attendants had ensured that her body did succumb to the effects of the chemicals. Once they had confirmed that the initial dosages had indeed slowed her metabolism they began to give her the next set of chemicals.

It took some time but the chemicals slowly began taking effect and Eleena’s mind started to become sluggish while her perception of the things around her began to blur. She tried to think clearly and concentrate but found that she no longer had the ability to do so. Her straining against her bonds had long since ceased as she could not focus enough on even that simple action. She might have been frightened at what was happening to her but even processing emotions had become difficult to do.

Eventually, something made its way through her clouded mind. A voice. It was familiar but provided no comfort if anything it seemed to triggered an alarm in her mind. She tried to think about why a voice would worry her but it quickly became far too difficult to maintain that thought. Instead she simply listened to the voice.

“Can you hear me?” the voice asked.

A simple enough question but for some reason Eleena felt as if it was the most important question she had ever heard. Wanting to give her response, Eleena tried to nod in response but her head was held in place by something. How strange.

Although she did not have a sense of time, Eleena still quickly put the thought of her restrained form away. She still had to let the voice know that she could hear it. Opening her mouth, she tried to respond but her tongue seemed too big to form words. A small twinge of frustration cut through her slowed mind. She had to answer the voice. Why would her mouth not cooperate?

It took Eleena a few more tries but finally she managed to get her mouth to work. “Y… yes. Yes, I hear you.” Her body then seemed to relax slightly. She had answered and that was a good thing.

“Good.” The voice sounded pleased. “Now, can you tell me your name?”

Another question. It seemed just as urgent as the previous one so Eleena answered. “T’Soni, Eleena.” Again, answering the question seemed to relieve a pressure in the back of Eleena’s sluggish mind which let her body relax once more.

“Very good. Where were you before you were brought here?”

That was slightly more difficult for Eleena to answer as it required her to concentrate. But the pressure in the back of her mind grew to the point where she was forced to navigate her own mind, if only to remember just where she had been. “Nasurn. The Port of Aegohr.” She managed to say before sighing in relief as the pressure in her mind eased.

The voice continued to ask questions which would cause the pressure to return and the only thing that eased it was answering what the voice asked. Each time, Eleena simply answered the questions posed to her without any thought of refusing.

It was not until the voice asked about her companions that something other than the need to answer managed to cut through to the forefront of her mind. Another alarm, similar to when the voice had first started speaking, seemed to be going off in her head. _Strange_ , she thought. Why would she have that reaction to a simple question?

The pressure in Eleena’s head was building again but the alarm was also making itself known. She winced in pain as the voice’s question was again asked.

“Where are the companions that were with you on Nasurn?”

Where were they? Eleena assumed that they were going to the Citadel with the evidence. Her mouth opened to say just that when the alarm in her mind started blaring. Why was it doing that?

The two separate pains in her mind seemed to be warring with each other. The pressure would grow and the alarm would rise to meet it. Her face scrunched up in anguish as she tried to come up with an answer that would satisfy both the voice and alarm. “I… I don’t know,” she finally said. “We didn’t… didn’t have time to discuss a destination.” It was true. They had been too preoccupied with the possibility of getting evidence to clear the Confederation that they had not made exact plans for what they would do afterwards.

To Eleena’s immense relief that answer eased both the pressure and alarm in her mind.

The voice however was apparently not satisfied with the answer. “Where would they go?” it asked forcefully.

Once again, the alarm in Eleena’s head started to go off and again the pressure began to build with it. Outside of her mind, Eleena’s physical body let out a faint whimper of pain as the two opposing forces faced off in her head. “I… I don’t…” Her head felt as if it was splitting apart as she tried to satisfy both of the pains in her mind. Unfortunately, the sluggishness brought on by the chemicals did not make thinking easy and hindered her every attempt to come up with a solution.

Though she continued to wrestle with the question, the pressure in Eleena’s mind eventually grew so much that she could not keep from blurting out her answer. “The Citadel!” she screamed. “They would’ve gone to the Citadel!”

A wave of relief surged through Eleena as the pressure in her mind eased up. Even the alarm had quieted. Her impaired mind was so relieved that it did not immediately register that in the place of an alarm there was now another feeling. It was small at first but it slowly started to spread. She tried to identify what it was, as the voice had not yet asked another question, but it was still incredibly difficult with her mind not thinking clearly. What was it? Self-loathing? Disappointment? Guilt? She could not tell but felt it spreading everywhere.

Outside of her mind, tears had started to flow from Eleena’s eyes. But her mind was still so clouded that it was unable to register that other parts of her body were reacting to having given up the location of her companions.

Back inside of her mind the dark feeling had covered almost everything and left her feeling hollow and small. They were familiar feelings but not being able to concentrate she could not think why they would be familiar to her. The only reasonably clear thought she was able to think was that she did not like this hollow feeling at all.

It was almost a relief when she heard the voice again as it was a distraction from how her own mind.

“You’ve been very helpful. We’ll be sure to be able to meet your friends when they arrive on the Citadel. But now I want you to tell me the names of everyone that you think knows about our involvement in this matter with the Confederation.”

Another whimper of pain escaped Eleena as her mind began to struggle with this latest question. The familiar alarm was blaring in her mind louder than ever and demanded that she not answer. Unfortunately, the longer she remained silent the more the pressure that demanded she answer grew. Her eyes, which had stopped seeing anything, squeezed shut as her mind was torn in two different directions.

Knowing that the dark hollow feeling would only get worse if she did answer, Eleena tried to obey the alarm that was telling her to stay silent. But the pressure on her mind only increased the more she waited and before long the pressure had eclipsed the alarm and started smothering what thoughts she managed to form.

Eleena could not hear her own words when her mouth started moving, her mind was too consumed by the overwhelming pressure that demanded a response to the voice’s question. But her mouth moved nevertheless and listed out everyone she knew and suspected knew about the Linron’s involvement in supporting Karek Brathor.

* * *

 

- **Citadel**

Nyssa had to put Alice in control of the Osiris as she approached the Citadel. The last time she had been on the station, she had just recovered from her failed attempt to take over Shepard’s life. Ever since then she had avoided the station. She was not sure if it had been out of an inability to deal with her past actions or a fear of returning to the place where her world had been shattered by Brooks. Whatever the case she now found herself returning and doing so for someone she never thought she would ever meet let alone travel and work with.

Letting out a sigh, Nyssa thought of some of the conversations that she had had with Eleena. The young asari had said that she had been grateful that Nyssa was not Shepard. Something that flew right in the face of what Nyssa had constantly been told by Brooks. But T’Soni’s words were still something that she was incredibly thankful to have been told. Becoming her own person had been incredibly difficult and even now Nyssa still had doubts about her ability to function as herself and not as some cheap Shepard impersonator.

Her mind then started to think more about Eleena. She had seen a small bit of the sparring match between her and Kharn and had been taken aback at just how heavily scarred the asari’s body had been. It had made her feel sad that rather than enjoying life with her family, Eleena was instead dealing with the worst that the galaxy had to offer. Given that an asari brain took about fifty years to mature, Nyssa wondered how those experiences would shape Eleena’s view of the galaxy.

_Assuming she even lives to fifty_ , a voice in the back of her mind said.

Nyssa tried to bury that thought but could not deny that it had a valid point. Unless someone managed to find Eleena then it was unlikely she would ever reach fifty years of age. She wondered who would tell her family or if they would be informed at all. Given what Eleena had shared about her feelings, or lack of them, for her family, Nyssa would not have been surprised if she had removed Shepard and Dr. T’Soni from any next of kin related paperwork. Perhaps Eleena’s girlfriend, Lynora Morix, would be informed instead? She did not know.

Shaking her head, Nyssa put all of that out of her mind. She did not know for certain what Eleena’s current situation was and worrying about it would not do her or Eleena any good. She had a job to do and it required her full attention.

Returning her focus to the task at hand, Nyssa transmitted the codes that Caeldros had given her to the Citadel docking controllers. She was then directed to a secure docking bay for priority arrivals.

Leaving the cockpit, Nyssa joined the others by the umbilical. “Alright, we’re here. Extra security should be waiting to take us to the task force headquarters.”

“Let’s hope they can be trusted,” Kharn remarked dryly with a look at Branya. He knew that she had not been the one to place an agent within the task force but she had taken advantage of it. And while he did believe that she wanted to stop what she and Karek had set in motion, he still had the urge to kill her so she would not be able to target the Confederation again in the future.

Branya saw the look that he gave her and simply ignored it. She knew that the others on the Osiris did not fully trust her and she was very aware of Kharn’s desire to kill her. She would have expected nothing less from another SIU operative whose outlook was so different from hers. Still, she felt an odd sort of kinship with him. Perhaps it was because they were the last two living members of their old SIU outfit? Well, the last two shooters. She knew that there were several officers that were still alive but she had little appreciation for them during the Hegemony and even less now that the Confederation was in place. However, she knew that that feeling of kinship would not stop her from killing him. She might have regrets about it but she was a professional and would still go through with it given the chance.

“Well we’ll see in a second,” Nyssa said as they all exited the Osiris.

The first thing that they all saw upon leaving the ship was a group of asari in dark purple armor with two interlocked white circles on their shoulders. A private security group of some sort.

Nyssa watched, with one hand on her weapon, as an asari with a blank expression stepped forward.

“My name is Lynora Morix, Twin Moons Security Services. Septilus Caeldros has asked that we escort you to the task force’s headquarters.”

Swallowing, Nyssa found that her mouth had suddenly gone dry. She could understand how director Caeldros would go outside of the task force to ensure the mole would not be tipped off but she had not expected him to hire Eleena’s girlfriend for the job. “Thank you,” was all she managed to say as she followed the group of asari.

The asari formed a protective formation around the group and led them to a waiting shuttle which was flanked by two armed skycars. It did not take long for everyone to get aboard and airborne. The three vehicles then took off and began the flight to the task force headquarters.

Lynora confirmed with all of the TMSS operatives, all of whom were old Eclipse friends of hers, that they were not to be stopped by anyone. They had been given a great deal of operational freedom by Caeldros and they would use it if necessary. She frowned then as she thought of the task force director. He had been the one to send Eleena out on this assignment and now she was missing. Closing her eyes, she resisted the urge to flare her biotics in frustration. There would be a time to become press Caeldros for more details on Eleena and why she was missing but now was not it.

Opening her eyes, Lynora glanced over at the four people that she was supposed to protect. She was impressed at Eleena’s ability to find such a ridiculous group of individuals: a clone of Eleena’s father, a former Alliance sniper with a grudge against the Alliance government and two former batarian SIU operatives one of which had been involved in the assassination of a human ambassador. They were not a group that Lynora had ever expected to see in the same room let alone working together.

As she watched her four charges, Lynora noticed that the clone of Shepard kept glancing her way. Curious, Lynora wondered what would make the human focus on her like that. She had never even known that a clone of Shepard had been made until Caeldros had brought her in and told her. So why was she getting these furtive looks from someone she did not know?

Not wanting any surprises on this job, she made sure to catch the human’s eye the next time she looked over. The human tried to hide the fact that she had been caught but Lynora gave her a look that made it clear that was not working.

Seeing that she had been caught, the human seemed to take a breath before motioning to the shuttle’s forward compartment. Taking the hint, Lynora opened up the compartment and let the human enter in front of her. The small bit of privacy made the human slightly more comfortable but she was obviously still uncomfortable. “Can I help you with something?” she asked.

It took a moment for Nyssa to actually answer but after a bit of thought she did find her voice. “I don’t know how much Caeldros has told you but I thought that, since you were together, you should know what happened to Eleena.”

That caught Lynora off guard and left her struggling to find words. How had she known about her relationship with Eleena?

Seeing that Lynora was temporarily at a loss for words, Nyssa gave her a moment to recover.

“How?” was all Lynora managed to say.

Nyssa realized that she probably should have led with how Eleena had mentioned her relationship with Lynora. “Eleena and I had a fair amount of idle time which led to us sharing things with each other.”

Lynora supposed she should have expected that. Idle time begged to be filled and Eleena was no different. Perhaps seeing Nyssa’s face had made her view Nyssa as Shepard and she was then confused as to why Eleena was actually sharing things with her father after leaving home as a young child. “She must trust you if she shared anything personal.”

“I would certainly like to think that she trusts me.” Despite the topic that Nyssa wanted to discuss she managed a small smile. “But for the most part I was just thankful that she was kind to me. She has done more for me than I thought anyone in the galaxy ever would.”

Hearing that, Lynora cracked a faint smile herself. While she was occasionally exasperated at it, she loved how Eleena always seemed to be able to befriend people that the galaxy was not overly fond of. The most basic example Lynora had observed was how most of Eleena’s friends were batarian and the most drastic being the time when Eleena befriended and even defended a wandering Ardat-Yakshi from a group of asari commandos that had been hunting her. Lynora was certain that that had not earned Eleena any favors with the Republics and Matriarchs but she knew that Eleena had no regrets and still kept in contact with the Ardat-Yakshi who was apparently living happily somewhere in the Traverse.

“She never could resist lending assistance to those the galaxy usually left behind,” she said with an almost warm expression. “You can tell me what happened later. For now, while I don’t know the exact details of what she and you were doing, I know she would want me to get you to Caeldros. But afterwards…” Lynora’s previously warm expression turned to a slightly pleading look.

Nyssa lifted her hand and hesitated for a moment but quickly pushed past her own discomfort and put her hand on Lynora’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you everything once we’ve finished our business with that task force.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course,” Nyssa said with a slightly forced smile. Actually, saying that she had business with the task force had reminded her that while she had an immunity deal all written up it had not yet been circulated between relevant agencies and organizations. The old fear of being found and captured by the Alliance returned and she found herself suddenly out of breath. She quickly took her hand away from Lynora’s shoulder and used it to balance herself in the small compartment which suddenly seemed to have lost focus.

Lynora was not sure what the cause had been but she recognized that Nyssa was having a panic attack. “Hey, hey. Breath, just breath,” Lynora urged. “Come on. Hold in for four and let it out for six. Come on now.”

That proved difficult to do for Nyssa as she was thinking of the tube that she had first woken up in. Being so confined had terrified her and those memories served as the fuel for the fear of the Alliance putting her in a similar dark hole if they ever caught her.

Seeing that Nyssa was struggling to remain calm, Lynora turned to get the other human for help but was interrupted by the shuttle’s intercom.

“Boss, we’ve got a problem. Multiple vehicles are on intercept course with us.”

Lynora let out a low growl. “No change to our rules of engagement. If they show hostile intent then shoot them down. Nothing stops us.”

Despite the fact that she was still struggling with Nyssa, Lynora felt a familiar bloodlust rise in her. These were likely the same people that were responsible for Eleena going missing. She would have preferred to fight them up close, to make sure she could cause them pain, but she would settle for shooting them out of the air.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A pretty bad quality chapter but that's writer's block for you.

- **Citadel**

As she felt her shuttle shudder under another glancing hit, Lynora had to begrudgingly admit that she may have been a little overconfident or at least partially blinded by her bloodlust. These attackers, Caeldros had said they would likely be salarians, were good at their job and unfortunately had numbers on their side.

“How far out are we?” Lynora asked urgently as the shuttle bucked to one side.

“Too far.” Lynora’s friend and shuttle pilot answered as she struggled to right the shuttle. “Crazy fucking amphibians,” she muttered.

Lynora had to agree with that. Attacking them this brazenly on the Citadel reeked of desperation. Whatever information Eleena’s companions had must be incredibly valuable. “Any landing sites that’ll give us cover?”

“Ground game?”

“Can’t win in the air, not like this,” Lynora said.

“Alright then.” The pilot then began speaking to her companions in the accompanying skycars to explain what was happening.

Turning around, Lynora looked back to her friends and charges. “Can’t make the Presidium. We’ve gotta set down just shy of it in the wards. Get set up for a ground game.”

The asari all nodded in acknowledgement before they got up and readied their weapons.

Kharn also checked over the weapons that he brought from the Osiris. He had no plans to be caught unarmed while STG agents were chasing him. He was just checking his spare thermal clips when Branya caught his attention.

“Just so we’re clear. After I give my statement to prove the Confederation didn’t assassinate Hunley I walk.”

Kharn’s upper eyes narrowed in frustration as he checked over his equipment. He did not want to let Branya loose on the galaxy again, especially given her skills and abilities. However, Eleena had drawn up various documents to ensure cooperation from sources and they had already had Branya complete and transfer one to Caeldros. A part of the deal also ensured that he himself would oversee that the files regarding her previous identity and location would be buried so she could effectively disappear.

“Kharn?” Branya said, fixing both pairs of eyes on her former colleague.

“I’ll honor the deal we made.” He finally said, begrudgingly.

Branya gave him a satisfied smile. “Good. One more thing. If we’re going down into the wards I’m going to need a weapon.”

Kharn gave her an incredulous look. She could not be serious. “I’ll cover you.”

With an amused chuckle, Branya moved her head to indicate distrust. “You see, that’s what I’m worried about. I don’t go anywhere undefended against hostiles.”

“I still consider you to be a hostile,” Kharn said bluntly.

“Kharn, I don’t get a gun then I don’t go to the task force to give testimony,” Branya said with finality.

Letting out a low snarl, Kharn tried to consider his options. Unfortunately, he knew that there were no other options. He needed Branya to give her statement.

Smiling, Branya saw Kharn come to the realization that he would have to indulge her.

Pulling out a pistol, he turned it around and offered it, grip first, to Branya. “Try not to shoot me with it.”

“Oh Kharn.” Branya cooed as she checked over the weapon. “If I shoot you, rest assured that it won’t be in the back when you’re unaware.”

“Comforting,” Kharn remarked, dryly.

Meanwhile, Renee was working with Nyssa who was still breathing hard and felt as if the walls of the galaxy were closing in on her. “Come on now, eyes on me,” Renee said gently but with firmness.

Forcing herself to listen, Nyssa looked at the woman she loved.

“Good, that’s good,” Renee said approvingly. “Alright now breath. You know the drill. Hold in for four and out for six. Come on.”

It took a few moments but Nyssa finally managed to control her breathing. The world still felt like it was closing in but she had a measure of control again and that was something.

Renee looked around and could not help but feel a sense of urgency. They were about to touch down and would have to move fast once they were on the ground. Nyssa needed to get control of herself sooner rather than later.

Lynora came back into the main cabin and readied herself. “Alright. We’re about to touch down. We’re going to be landing in a maintenance area that’s usually only used by the keepers but it’ll give us cover and allow us to cross over to the ring. Once we’re on the Presidium C-Sec should be able to give us assistance but until then whoever’s following us will be on us the whole way.”

“How many hostiles?” An older asari with grey markings and a shotgun asked.

The shuttle rocked slightly as it received another glancing hit from their pursuers.

Lynora reached up and held onto a handle. “Unknown but given the number of shuttles and skycars outside I’d say there could be approximately fifty armed troops.”

“Bad odds.” Another asari spoke while flexing her hand and causing a small swirl of dark energy to form.

“Yeah but we’ve had worse. Remember Niacal? At least we don’t need breathers here.” The same older asari said as she also took hold of a handle on the roof of the shuttle.

The other asari all shuddered at the memory of the fiasco that was the Niacal job.

“Coming up on our insertion point,” the pilot spoke over the intercom. “Riali and Norel are staying in the air to try to keep some of these guys off of us.”

“Make sure they don’t do anything stupid. I don’t want to call their bondmates to say that they died on the job,” Lynora replied to the pilot.

As the shuttle came in lower to the maintenance area that linked the ward to the Presidium ring, Nyssa had managed to at least gain a measure of control over her body. However, her mind still screamed at her in discomfort. She understood that she was suffering a panic attack. Given that she was back on the Citadel, the place where her world had first shattered and where so many Alliance officials currently were, she thought it was more than understandable. Unfortunately, she also knew that there was no time for her to fully recover from her panic. Looking up at Renee, she motioned for her to come closer.

“Yes? What is it?” Renee asked in as comforting a voice as she could manage, given their current situation.

Nyssa found that her throat was still tight and that made speaking difficult. But she managed to get the word she needed out. “S-stim.” She then motioned towards a medkit that was on the shuttle wall.

Renee gave Nyssa a serious look. She knew what Nyssa was about to do and hated that she actually agreed with it. Quickly searching through the medkit, she found a stim. She then brought the injector back to where Nyssa stood, leaning against the shuttle wall.

Accepting the stim, Nyssa held it in her hand and considered it for a long moment. Glancing at Renee, she hoped that this was not going to lead her back to a place she did not want to go. Closing her eyes, Nysaa popped off the safety cap and jammed the injector into her leg.

Her eyes snapped open as her whole body felt as if a current had been sent through it. She let out a faint gasp as the stim forcefully pulled her mind out of the panic that it had been drowning in and shoved it into the present.

Grimacing at the display, Renee took the spent injector. “I hate it when you do that,” she muttered quietly.

Though she was still breathing hard from the sudden and intense rush that the stim had given her, Nyssa managed to look apologetic. “Old habits die hard I guess.”

“Just don’t go making it a usual thing again.” Renee turned the spent injector over in her hands and her mind went back to how she had been when she first arrived on Omega. “We don’t need either of us regressing.”

Nyssa’s left leg twitched slightly as she thought of the faint scars, curtesy of numerous old injections, that were still there. Reaching out, she took Renee’s hand and squeezed gently. “I have a very important reason not to.”

Renee’s lip twitched upward in a faint smile. “I’ll hold you to that.”

The two humans squeezed each other’s hands once more before straightening up and preparing to exit the descending shuttle.  

The pilot came in from the cockpit while checking over a pistol. “Alright. We’re touching down in twenty seconds. Shuttle is primed to go up if they come in to search it.”

“Nicely done, Miana,” Lynora said with nod of approval at her pilot. She then looked over her charges. “We’re going to have to move fast. Riali and Norel won’t be able to keep the attention off of us for long.”

“Don’t worry about us,” Nyssa spoke with a sense of calm and confidence that she did not truly feel. “We’ll keep up.”

Renee nodded in agreement. “Used to do this for a living.”

Kharn remained quiet as he checked the safety on his weapon. Glancing at Branya he hoped that the salarians pursuing them were all he would have to worry about.

As the shuttle touched down, the main door opened and the group of asari, humans and batarians all exited at a fast pace.

Chancing a glance upwards, Kharn saw that the two skycars that had been escorting them were currently running dangerous maneuvers around three other shuttles and several other unmarked skycars. He had to admit that the asari pilots knew their craft. Rarely had he seen pilots perform with such confidence. He supposed that centuries of experience would do that.

“Alright, service tunnel is coming up. We should be able to take it all the way to the Presidium.” Lynora spoke while looking over directions on her omni-tool. “Miria, take point.”

The older asari with grey markings stepped forward and, with her shotgun up, led the group into the tunnel.

-

Septilus Caeldros had had a feeling that his day was going to go badly when he first asked Lynora Morix and her private security firm to escort Eleena’s companions and their evidence to the task force. She might not have said it aloud, but the look that she had given him made it clear that if he did not explain what had happened to Eleena, and soon, then he would deeply regret it. Unfortunately, he was not sure just what he could tell her. He did not even know the exact circumstances behind Eleena’s presumed capture.

His bad feeling had only been further validated when she had called back, after picking up the four assets, and told him that they were under heavy attack. He would normally have sent some of his own people to assist but they were already spread thin with preventing human attacks on batarian targets. There was also the leak in the task force that he now had confirmation about, which made sending any agents to assist too great a risk. He had tried to get C-Sec to send in reinforcements but they were too far out. The best that they could do was meet Lynora once she reached the Presidium.

And now, to make matters worse, Ronoka Tilsa had just informed him that the electronic security systems in the building were being attacked from an unknown group or individual.

“Spirits,” he muttered, frustratedly. “What can you tell me?” he asked Tilsa.

“Nothing new,” the salarian said with an obvious edge to her voice. She rolled her chair from one terminal to the next, telling other analysts and techs what to do to try and protect their systems.

His mandibles fluttered as he watched the controlled chaos of scrambling technicians. Yes, this was going to be a very bad day.

Turning away from the main floor, Septilus called the C-Sec Executor on a secure line. “Celtus, we have a serious problem.”

“Explain.” The Executor responded promptly.

“Someone’s just launched a massive attack on our systems. It’s taking everything my people can do just to keep our files secure.” He looked over at Tilsa and the others and saw that they were all still scrambling. “I need to know if this is wide spread across the station or a specific attack against us.”

“Hold on.” The Executor quickly went to his chief network specialist and asked for an update. She responded that there had been nothing beyond the usual attempts to attack their systems and as far as she knew there were no other electronic attacks happening on the station. “Septilus, my people say that we’re secure and that there aren’t any other attacks happening. Whatever it is, it’s concentrated on you.”

Septilus cursed as he realized who was most likely behind this attack. His gaze slowly traveled across all of the agents that were currently on the main floor. Was one of them the leak that Eleena had learned about? “I need a favor, Celtus. No questions asked and it needs to be done as soon as possible.”

The Executor hesitated for only a moment before choosing to listen to his friend. Had it been the initial task force director he might have refused but Septilus had made it a point to maintain good relations with C-Sec. “What is it?”

“I need you to deploy special response teams to my location and have them maintain a holding pattern until I say otherwise.”

There was a long pause on the line before Celtus finally responded. “That’s a lot to ask for. I’ve already diverted a number of officers to help pick up your informants.”

His mandibles moved in a tired way as Septilus admitted that Celtus was right. “I know. And believe me, I’ll owe you after this. But if my suspicions are correct then I’ll need those teams.”

Celtus made a disgruntled noise even though he had already made up his mind. Septilus was a good soldier and leader and would not ask for resources if they were not absolutely necessary. “Alright. You’ll have your teams. How do you want to contact them?”

Septilus closed his eyes in gratitude. At least one thing was working right today. “I’ll contact them on this line.” He hesitated a moment before continuing. “Celtus, there can be no contact with anyone else in the task force. Unless an order has come directly from me, then they are not to listen to anyone else under my command.”

An uncomfortable silence fell between them as Celtus took in what that meant. “They’ll be in the air in five minutes. Spirits help you.”

“Thank you.” Septilus then closed the line. Before returning to the main floor, he silently hoped that his day was not about to get worse.

-

Lynora Morix had thought that things were bad enough when Septilus Caeldros had called her and said that Eleena was missing. Now she knew that things were worse than the task force director had admitted.

Grimacing, Lynora pulled one of the pursuing salarians forward which allowed Miria to bring her shotgun to bare.

She understood that the director could not tell her, an outsider, everything. But it would have been nice to know that elite STG agents would be swarming all over her like a volus firm on a business contract.

Seeing the head of another salarian come into view, Lynora lined up her sights and felt a savage smile tug at her lips. Her finger began to squeeze the trigger when the salarian’s head exploded. Blinking once in confusion, Lynora looked around to see who had been responsible.

To her immense surprise, she saw that the female batarian was behind her, weapon raised, and was snarling curses at the salarians. Apparently, she was not the only one with a grievance to settle. Returning her attention to the salarians, Lynora used her biotics to rip a section of piping off the wall and impale another of the attackers.

As gunfire roared and biotics flashed, Branya allowed herself, for the first time in years, to let loose. During her time with the SIU she had always kept her emotions in check. Being in control had kept her alive. But she was not a perfect soldier, far from it. She had allowed her emotions to fuel her actions twice in the past. The first had been when her family had been killed and the second had been when Kharn had betrayed her and Karek to Dholla Barcob. Neither instance had given her any sense of peace but at the moment she did not care. All she cared about was making these STG agents pay in blood for Karek and the others.

Moving back down the service tunnel, Branya used the covering fire provided by the asari to overrun the salarian’s position.

Approaching the first bit of cover, Branya fired into the head of one salarian, causing the back of his head to splatter across the service tunnel. His companion brought his own rifle up but Branya shoved the barrel aside and pushed her own weapon between his armor plating. Pulling the trigger twice, Branya reduced the salarian’s organs to an organic paste.

A twisted smile crept across her face as Branya watched both salarians go limp. Noticing that one seemed to have been an explosives specialist, she removed several grenades from his equipment. Smiling, she threw them towards the remaining salarians and took cover.

The grenades went off one after the other and would have deafened everyone in the tunnel had they not been wearing protection.

Raising her head, Branya surveyed her handiwork and smiled. The remaining three salarians had been shredded by shrapnel and left the tunnel a bloody mess. After confirming that all the attackers were dead, she made her way back to the asari, humans and Kharn. She could see that they were tending to a few minor injuries which meant that she had at least a few moments.

Kneeling down by the salarian she had shot in the chest, she used a knife she had taken from the Osiris to begin removing his eyes. A dark smile spread across her face again. Not many non-batarians would understand the insult but she did and that was enough for her.

“Branya.”

The voice made her look up and she saw Kharn watching her. She expected to see a look of disapproval on his face but to her surprise she thought that she saw a flash of satisfaction before his face went blank.

“We need to keep moving,” Kharn said in a flat voice. “This was just an advance team. The others won’t be far behind.”

At another time Branya might have told him off for explaining the obvious but she was still thinking about what she had seen on his face. When she had told him that Karek and the others were almost certainly dead he had carefully kept his expression neutral. In her own grief she had foolishly dismissed it as the traitor no longer caring about his former friends. But now that she actually thought about it she realized how stupid a conclusion that had been.

Glancing back down at the salarian corpse, she finished removing the left eye. Her hands moved slightly towards the right eye but she paused and instead turned the blade around, offering it to Kharn.

All four of Kharn’s eyes focused on the knife. His thoughts were conflicted just as they had been when he had reported Karek to Barcob’s security forces. He desperately wanted to complete the insult that Branya had started but to do so required a level of familiarity that he was not sure the two of them still had.

Turning his eyes to Branya he saw that there was uncertainty in her expression. It seemed that she was also unsure of her choice to share this with him. But perhaps that uncertainty was enough for now. It was certainly better than the bloodlust she had displayed during their last encounter all those years ago.

Reaching out, Kharn accepted the blade and removed the salarian’s right eye. “May the results of your labor never come to pass.”

“And may your spirit never find rest,” Branya finished. She might not believe in things like the spirits of the dead but she did not have any problem with insults and this was one of the oldest insults known to batarians.

Flipping the knife over, Kharn handed it back to Branya. “Try not to stab me with it,” he said with a faint smile that had not been present when Branya first asked for a weapon. He was not naïve enough to think that he could trust her but they at least understood one another where their grief was concerned.

Without saying anything else, the two former friends continued their way up the service tunnel.

-

Ati’ri was typing away at an almost frantic pace as they tried to source the electronic attacks. They had previously tried to keep up with Tilsa to protect the task force’s electronic infrastructure and files but had not been able to match the salarian’s thought process. Instead they began their own protocol and what they had found so far was unsettling.

The task force equipment had allowed Ati’ri to trace the attack across several systems. The unsettling thing was that it had been routed through stations typically used by the Confederation. They suspected that this meant the Linron’s were indeed behind these attacks and were trying to frame the batarians.

“Director?” they said without turning away from their screens.

Septilus walked over from his position at the back of the main floor. “What do you have for me?”

“Possible confirmation on who is behind these attacks.” They pulled up their work on one screen for the director to see. “I’ve traced it back through several deep space routing stations that all point to the Confederation.” They looked back and gave Caeldros a knowing look. “Which means that whoever took Tilsa’s friend is likely behind this as well,” they said in a low voice.

Quickly examining the screen, Septilus agreed with the raloi’s assessment. The Linron’s were almost certainly behind this and were still trying to frame the Confederation. But why target the Confederation?

He hoped that source Eleena found would be able to provide some answers. But for now, there were more pressing problems. “Good work. Be sure to keep this quiet for now. We don’t need anything else to come out that blames the Confederation right now.”

Ati’ri was about to respond when the lights went out.

Confused and worried voices started to fill the room when the emergency lights came on and bathed the room in red light.

“No, no, no, no, no. Don’t do this.” Tilsa was muttering to herself and trying to get the status of the task force’s systems.

“What’s our status?” Septilus asked after he called for calm.

Tilsa was still frantically typing away as she responded. “Running purely on backup power. Still doing a diagnostic on our other systems.”

Caeldros began giving out orders to agents throughout the building. Physical security was now more important than ever.

Moving away from her temporary station, Ati’ri cocked their head. Something was wrong. Listening carefully, they sorted through the noise all around them. Tilsa was still muttering as were other agents, electronics were giving off their usual faint hum, Caeldros was calling agents throughout the building. But behind all of that there was something else, something that did not belong.

Frowning, Ati’ri moved towards the edge of the main floor. Whatever it was sounded almost like muffled popping.

It was then that gunfire was heard off towards one of the secondary entrances to the building.

That’s what it was, Ati’ri realized. Suppressed gunfire. Someone was assaulting the task force.

Spinning towards the sound of gunfire, Septilus pulled out his own weapon. Damn it. “All agents this is a code five emergency. I repeat, code five. All emergency protocols are now in effect.” Quickly switching to his private channel, Septilus called the C-Sec Special Response teams. “We have active shooters on site. I need your teams to secure the building. My people are on their way to the designated safe rooms and should be out of your way. If you run into any of my agents challenge is Unification, response is Cabal.”

“Understood.” Came the prompt reply.

Returning to his own people, Caeldros had everyone move quickly to their designated safe rooms.

More gunfire could be heard in the building now. The attackers had lost the element of surprise and now those task force agents that had combat training were fighting back.

Despite the sounds of fighting coming closer, Tilsa was still at her station and was muttering to herself.

Running over, Ati’ri tried to get their friend to move. “What are you doing? We need to go, now!”

“Just give me a minute!” Tilsa’s eyes were wide as she took in everything on the screen. It was as if someone else had gotten into their systems and was now fighting back against the initial attackers.

“What’s going on?” Septilus had come over as the rest of the agents had finished leaving the floor.

Ati’ri ruffled their feathers in annoyance and just motioned at Tilsa.

Septilus looked incredulously at the salarian. “What is it?”

“Someone else is in our systems.” Tilsa spoke slowly and the confusion in her voice was obvious.

“Another attack?” Septilus asked as he quickly started to scan the screens before Tilsa.

The look of utter confusion on Tilsa’s face caused both Ati’ri and Septilus to exchange a worried glance.

“Not another attack, no. There’s someone that’s working on protecting our systems. All of our files have already been secured and they’re now working on getting us off of backup power.”

Now it was Septilus and Ati’ri’s turn to look confused. They both examined the screens before them and found that Tilsa was correct. Someone was indeed aiding them in their fight.

It was then that a stuttering sound followed by a slightly garbled mechanical voice spoke over the main floor’s speaker system. “Please retreat to your designated safe rooms. We will restore power momentarily.”

Septilus felt a faint pang of fear as he heard the stuttering. His mind flashed back to defending Palaven and other key locations from reaper controlled geth.

“Caeldros-Director, we understand your unease. We regret revealing ourselves in this way but after the loss of T’Soni, Eleena we have been attempting to reach a consensus. We have now agreed to continue giving assistance to T’Soni, Eleena’s assignment.”

Listening to the geth speak made Septilus’ mandibles twitch in discomfort. He would have been perfectly happy to never hear from or encounter the geth again. Having them here, apparently assisting them in defending their systems was unnerving. The fact that they apparently had been giving aid to Eleena only raised more questions.

“Caeldros-Director, the Linron intruders are heading to the server room. They intend to destroy any evidence you have gathered of their involvement in Hunley-Ambassador’s death. Please direct C-Sec teams there now so that we may lend assistance to Morix, Lynora.”

Ati’ri and Tilsa were both staring around the room in amazement as they listened to the geth speak. But they both turned their attention to Caeldros when he did not immediately respond to what was being said.

“Sir-” Tilsa began but stopped when Caeldros held up a hand.

Looking up, Septilus slowly looked around the room. He did not like this but he trusted Eleena so he would take this leap of faith. “I expect a full and detailed explanation of your involvement once everything has been secured. Now go and help Morix. We need the information she’s escorting.”

-

Despite eliminating the advance team, Lynora and those with her had nearly been overrun by the pursuing Linron loyalists.

The salarians had forced them off their intended route and down a side tunnel which ended up leading to a large room of protein vats. Unfortunately, the room was unmapped and any exit to the Presidium was known only to the keepers.

Without many options, Lynora and her companions began to set up around the entrance they came from in order to funnel the salarians into a kill zone with overlapping fields of fire.

“Miria,” Lynora called her friend over. “I need you to take someone, your choice, and try to map out some of these tunnels. If the salarians make it in here we need to have an exit.”

The older asari frowned. She had never liked leaving her friends for these little bits of recon but she knew how vital backup plans were and so never complained. Nodding, she looked over the others present and made her choice. “I’ll take Raftela. We’ll send updates to your omni-tool.”

Lynora inclined her head in approval. “Move fast. I don’t know how long we’ll have here.”

“Always do.” Miria then motioned Raftela over.

A maiden with a stoic expression on her face came over and looked quizzically at her two superiors.

“You and I are heading out,” Miria said. “We need an exit so we’re going to map out these tunnels.”

Raftela nodded once in understanding and waited for Miria to take the lead.

Never one to waste words, Miria thought to herself with a smile. Looking to Lynora, she gave her boss and friend a nod. “See you soon then,” she said before leaving along with Raftela down one of the tunnels.

Don’t take too long, Lynora thought darkly as she returned to her remaining friends. She then set about making sure that they were as prepared as they could be for the salarians. Explosives were set up at the entrance to the protein vat room and cover was set up for all of the asari. She also moved the humans and batarians back to a safe distance away from the entrance though she knew that if the salarians managed to get inside that there nowhere would be safe.

One of the explosives went off and Lynora could hear several screams of pain. Her lips curled upwards in sadistic pleasure. She found herself wishing that she could squeeze the life from these salarians herself. They had taken something that was very precious to her and she wanted to make them pay for that.

Realizing that her mind was drifting away from the situation at hand and into the realm of personal grievances, Lynora clenched her fist and closed her eyes. Eleena had always been good at calming her down when emotion clouded her judgement. She supposed it was understandable, Lee had had to grow up fast and that included learning to manipulate the emotions of others.

Sighing, Lynora shook her head. Thinking of Eleena would not help her here. Gunfire from the tunnel entrance only confirmed that she had to focus.

She was about to join her friends when one of the humans, Renee, quickly moved from cover to cover towards her. The urgent look on her face convinced Lynora to listen and not send her back to the other human and batarians.

“What is it?” Lynora asked over the sound of more gunfire.

There was a brief flicker of uncertainty on Renee’s face before she spoke. “I’ve got some ‘friends’ of T’Soni’s on the line. They’re offering to help guide us out of here.”

That caught Lynora completely off guard and left her speechless for several seconds. “What do you mean ‘friends’ of hers?”

Renee again looked uncertain but a second explosion from the tunnel forced her into action. “It’ll be easier if you just talk to them.”

Although she was still uncertain as to who these ‘friends’ could be, Lynora had become acutely aware of how dangerous the situation was becoming. Her own friends were shouting to each other over their own and the salarian’s gunfire. She even saw a drone make it through the tunnel but it was quickly overloaded. “Damn it. Transfer them to me.”

Wincing at the sounds of combat, Renee transferred the line to Lynora. “Just don’t be too startled when you hear them,” she warned.

Frowning slightly at that warning, Lynora accepted the call. “Who is this?”

A stuttering sound was what first came over the line and Lynora’s eyes went wide. She knew that sound. During the war she and her crew had encountered plenty of reaper controlled geth.

“We are here to lend assistance, Morix, Lynora,” a mechanical voice said.

“Goddess,” Lynora muttered to herself. She had to fight the urge to end the call right then and there. Friends of hers had been killed by geth. “And what ‘assistance’ can you give me?” she asked through gritted teeth.

“We have detailed maps of the Citadel and can guide you to the Presidium.”

Seeing the look of distrust on Lynora’s face, Renee tried to offer some reassurance. “Look, it’s obvious that you don’t trust the geth. I know a lot of people still don’t but they’ve been helping ever since T’Soni brought me and Nyssa into this. And according to her the geth have been her friends for years.”

That revelation, while not exactly shocking as Eleena had always accumulated odd friends, hurt Lynora. She had thought that she and Eleena had shared everything. Sure, she knew that certain work related things were kept from her but if this was true then what else might Eleena have been keeping secret?

“Morix, Lynora, we can guide you to safety. Please contact your scouting team so that we may also provide them with directions.”

Hearing the shouts from her own friends and the reassurances from Renee pushed Lynora to the only choice that made sense. “Fine. I just hope you have a plan to deal with these salarians.”

“We will prevent pursuit.”

“Wonderful,” Lynora muttered before calling Miria.

The response was almost immediate. “What happened?”

“A possible way out.” Lynora took a breath and tried to put her faith into the people that Eleena had chosen to trust. “I’m going to be connecting you to a call. Listen to what they have to say.”

Miria’s voice had a hint of incredulity to it. “That’s convenient.” But she accepted the call and did not voice concerns at the mechanical voice.

“Morix, Lynora, please follow these coordinates. We will keep the salarians from pursuing.”

Looking down, Lynora saw that her omni-tool had been sent a detailed map of the keeper tunnels with one particular route being highlighted. “Don’t have much of a choice,” she said to herself. “Everyone, we’re getting out of here! On me!”

One by one, the asari began to fall back to Lynora. The two batarians and remaining human also ran over.

Following the map, the geth had given her, Lynora led them all down the same tunnel that Miria and Raftela had taken earlier. Although she was occupied with getting her people out, she could not help but worry about the salarians behind them.

She was about to turn around to see if the salarians had followed them into the new tunnel when several blood curdling screams came from the room of protein vats. Several other asari and one of the humans turned around with looks of horror on their faces. Although they could not see what had happened the sounds of agony and the heat that were now flowing down the tunnel told them that the protein vats had overflowed onto the salarians.

“Goddess,” Lynora said quietly. Her hatred of the pursuing salarians quickly evaporated as her mind conjured up gruesome images of their bodies being burnt and drowned under the waves of boiling protein.

An awful smell began to flow from the room with the vats and made everyone recoil. Lynora’s stomach lurched and she struggled to keep herself from vomiting.

“We regret the pain and loss of life but these actions must be taken to prevent war. Please follow the route we have provided. C-Sec is waiting for you.”

Not wanting to respond to the cold pragmatism of the geth, Lynora took several deep breaths and motioned for everyone to follow her. “Come on. Let’s get out of these tunnels.”

-

With geth assistance, Lynora and her charges made it to the waiting C-Sec officers. From there everyone was taken to the task force’s headquarters.

As they were led inside, Branya could not help but notice the large presence of armed C-Sec and task force agents. In her youth she might have been nervous about the large presence of Council agents but now she felt perfectly at ease around them. Having information they wanted made them so agreeable.

“So many weapons,” she mused.

“Can you really blame them?” Kharn asked from beside her. “We aren’t exactly pacifists.”

That brought a smile to Branya’s face. “I suppose it’s flattering then.”

“Well I hope it will not be insulting when I tell you that it isn’t for you.” A turian with a partially missing mandible and red colony markings stood waiting for them.

Branya looked the turian up and down. He had obviously seen and experienced a great deal in his time. She wondered if he was former Blackwatch, he certainly had the look. “Guessing that you’re the big boss around here. Who is all this for then?”

Caeldros had them all follow him further into the building. “I am. And they’re for any other Linron loyalists that might still be on station.”

“Seems to be a lot of them around,” Lynora muttered darkly.

“So it would seem,” Caeldros agreed. “But for now at least we’re secure.” He then turned his gaze to Nyssa and Branya. “I have reviewed the documents that my assistant director wrote up for the both of you and have signed off on those deals.”

Lynora kept her expression neutral but still felt a flash of annoyance at Caeldros simply referring to Eleena by her title. “You all can get those details settled, I need to check on my people.” She then gave the task force director a very dark look that promised pain and suffering. “Once you’re done here, I expect you to answer all of my questions about what happened and keep my up to date with any efforts to get her back.”

To his credit, Caeldros did not react to Lynora’s expression and simply assured her that she would be kept in the loop.

Nyssa meanwhile had felt a surge of joy at hearing that Caeldros was going to follow through with her own immunity deal. However, that joy at no longer having to hide from everyone in the galaxy was accompanied with a sense of regret and shame. She had left Eleena behind. The person that, next to Renee, had done the most for her was either dead or imprisoned because of her actions.

Seeing the expression on Nyssa’s face, Renee took her hand. She had a fairly good idea of what was going through her head but did not want to discuss it with so many people around. So, she offered comfort and reassurances that she was there for her.

Feeling Renee next to her gave Nyssa a slight boost and she squeezed her hand in thanks.

Eventually they reached a conference room where everyone sat down.

Caeldros suddenly felt very tired as he took his seat and looked at the people before him. This matter with the Linrons had caused him no small amount of stress. He hoped that it would finally be come to an end. Looking to Branya he dispensed with the typical means of interviewing a source and went straight to the question that he wanted answered. “Why? Why were the Linrons trying to frame the Confederation for the assassination of Hunley?”

“Right to it then? No long drawn out protocols first? I don’t think the Hierarchy would approve of that.” Branya asked in amusement.

“Branya.” Kharn gave her a warning look. Just because they had reached a strange understanding did not mean he was going to allow her to mess around like this. It was not the time for such things.

Chuckling, Branya waved away Kharn’s look. “You’ll recall that you introduced us to that particular joke.”

Kharn closed both pairs of eyes and rubbed at the scar on his face, wishing for patience. Thankfully, Branya decided that this was not a situation where they should waste time and chose to respond to the director.

“First you’ll want to contact the Confederation. You’ll need access to the Hegemony files that they saved.”

“And what exactly is going to be in these files?” Caeldros asked with a faint flutter of his mandibles.

A small smile appeared on Branya’s face as she thought of how this would utterly destroy the Linron reputation and name. “Records of actions that the Linrons have taken. Actions that they would rather not have exposed.”

* * *

 

- **Condemned STG blacksite**

Eleena T’Soni had lost track of time. The last interactions that she had had were when the dalatrass and her followers had pumped her full of drugs and questioned her.

Since then, she had been kept restrained on the medical table, hooked up to numerous machines that were taking care of all her body’s needs. The table would even rotate around so that her blood would not pool in her back. Unfortunately, the table did not rotate on a set schedule, so she could not use it to keep track of time.

For all she knew, she could have been in her current position for less than a day or more than a month.

Although she knew that it was of no use, Eleena pulled against her restraints. There was still no give.

Grunting in frustration, Eleena tried not to let herself be consumed with the utter hopelessness of her situation.

If she was honest with herself, she knew that she was going to die here. The moment she destroyed her geth made equipment, she had sealed her fate. Without that equipment the Consensus would not be able to find her or pass her location to any relevant agencies like the task force.

She could always hope that someone would be able to pick up her trail from Nasurn but STG were some of the best at what they did. And with Nasurn being a major salarian world, it was likely that these STG agents had managed to completely cover their tracks.

Squirming in her bonds, she tried to think of something else. Unfortunately, in her complete isolation, there were not many happy thoughts she could focus on. Instead her mind reminded her that she had never contacted Lynora. That, more than the knowledge that her life would likely end in this room, made her sink into a pit of hopelessness and despair.

She should have sent a message or tried to call Lynora when Nyssa first suggested it. She should have told her how much she cared and how much better her life was thanks to her.

Instead, Eleena had pushed forward in her investigation. She had foolishly thought that she had more time to say and do all the things she wanted to with Lynora. Now, it was too late. She was never going to see her again.

Unable to do anything else, Eleena just stared up at the ceiling and hoped that Lynora could forgive her for just disappearing like this. It would even give her a measure of peace if Lynora just forgot about her entirely. Asari did, typically, have long life spans, after all. Maybe she would even find someone else that was much better than Eleena ever had been.

As she fought to control her own feelings, the door to her room opened up and Dalatrass Linron came storming in.

Eleena flinched at the sudden noise and presence of others. Swallowing hard, she tried to steel herself for whatever was coming next.

Seeing the dalatrass pace back and forth told Eleena that Linron had either lost control of her emotions or was dealing with an exceedingly complex problem. Either possibility did not make Eleena feel any better about her chances of survival.

“You, your friends and your father…” the dalatrass paused and actually shook slightly in anger. “Your actions have brought ruin to a bloodline older than most of these new council races.”

The dalatrass’ frustration somehow cut through Eleena’s misery. Knowing that her efforts had not been in vain gave her a small but substantial boost in morale. She managed a smug smirk as the dalatrass continued to pace. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought the bloodline was still around. It’s just under Narra leadership now.”

Linron’s anger flared and she actually slapped Eleena across the face.

The slap caused Eleena a fair amount of pain, compounded by the fact that her head was still securely held down to the medical bed and could not move to lessen the impact.

Chuckling, despite the pain, Eleena again mocked the dalatrass. “I’ll take it that I was correct then.”

Dalatrass Linron blinked several times as she calmed herself. Let the asari talk. It was not as if she would be leaving this room. Looking back towards the side of the room, she nodded to one of her followers who started adjusting one of the IVs connected to T’Soni.

Returning her gaze to Eleena, the dalatrass felt a rush of hatred similar to the hatred she still felt towards Shepard. It seemed that that feeling had now spread to and even increased with Shepard’s daughter. Shepard might have allowed the Narra’s to succeed in a coup but this T’Soni had just destroyed any chance that the Linron’s had of returning to power.

Noticing that the IV had been adjusted, Dalatrass Linron smiled at Eleena. She was pleased to see that the asari swallowed nervously. “I have had some time to imagine how I would break your father down piece by piece. Most unfortunately, she is not here and I also do not have the time to go through all of that with you.”

Eleena fought to keep from showing any outward reaction but she still flinched when the dalatrass traced a finger along an imaginary Y incision on her body.

“So, I will simply have to settle for this instead.” Linron made the medical table turn, so that T’Soni could see the new IV drip. “Something that we developed years ago. I will admit that it is somewhat crude but even we salarians must indulge in our base emotions from time to time.” She again smiled at Eleena. “Judging by the state of your body, you have endured a great deal of physical pain in the past. But as I understand it, this will make all of that pain seem like something quite trivial.”

Reaching out, the dalatrass started the new IV drip herself. “Sadly, I cannot be present to actually observe the effects in person but I will try to enjoy the recordings.” She nodded to the cameras that covered the room. “You and your father should have stayed out of that which does not concern you.” Linron said as she walked to the exit. “Now you can pay for both of your sins.”

The door closed and Eleena was once again alone.

Looking at the IV, she felt a deep sense of dread. She tried to pull her arm away but it was still restrained as tightly as ever.

She tried again to use biotics but the dampeners stopped her.

She did everything in her power to remove the IV but it still continued to slowly direct its contents into her body.

For the first few moments, Eleena managed to keep herself from reacting.

After those first few moments however Eleena started screaming.


	13. Chapter 13

**-Citadel**

“Spirits.” Septilus had just finished looking over the files that had been brought to the task force and he could not believe what he had read. “This is unbelievable.”

Branya found this response highly amusing. “It’s funny that you actually thought that the previous Council and its members were law abiding citizens.”

Although he usually would have told Branya off, Kharn had to agree with her. It was foolish to think that the powerful would not have undermined the laws of the galaxy, even if they helped to write them. Instead, he looked over to the young commander that had delivered the files in person. He wondered if this current generation of batarians would agree with his and Branya’s experiences.

Commander Korem Dhelem had, for the most part, kept silent as the task force director went over the files. He knew very well that he had been chosen to deliver this information because of his friendship with Eleena T’Soni. The Confederation was hoping to provide a familiar and friendly face to one of the few organizations that could and was willing to help them. So far, he had been impressed with Director Caeldros and his willingness to reach out to the Confederation. Eleena had always said that Caeldros was a good person. But right now, he could not help but make a faint noise of derision.

Both Kharn and Branya had faint smiles and looks of approval on their faces as the younger batarian allowed for this momentary lapse in decorum.

Looking around at the three batarians, Septilus realized that they all saw the galaxy and those in positions of power in a way he likely never would. In the Hierarchy, those with authority would earn such positions through hard work and merit and if they ever failed or faltered then they were returned to a previous position and the person who promoted them was investigated. Checks and balances. But as he looked at the batarians he saw that they were not familiar with such things and that abuse of power was so common it was seen as typical for them.

“It just…” Septilus did not know what to say as he glanced over the file’s details again.

“Hard to believe that not everyone plays by your rules?” Branya asked.

He shook his head in the way that humans and even batarians often did. “No. I understand that not everyone has the same upbringing as we do in the Hierarchy.” That was true but if he was honest it was something that he had only really learned after the reaper war. During his time with Blackwatch he defended Palaven from many threats but had rarely looked into those behind the threats and the sorts of backgrounds that they had.

Although he found this difference in cultures interesting, Korem coughed once to bring the focus to himself. “I can appreciate the surprise that this has caused, Director. But if I may, what are your intentions now that you have this file?” He did not push more than that but what he had not said hung over all of them. The Confederation had lost almost all legitimacy in the eyes of the galaxy and no one would accept it if they came forward with this file. If, however, the task force was to come forward with both the file and the evidence that Eleena had found in her investigation then there was a chance it would be accepted and acted upon.

Septilus’ mandibles moved slowly in a way that betrayed how tired this whole situation had made him. But he still managed to look at Korem directly as he responded. “The only thing I can do. I’ll take it to the Council. I also have a few friends in the Alliance that I can trust. If I can get in contact with them they might be able to push for a pause in hostilities against the Confederation. That will give us some room to breathe before this all goes public.”

Korem felt as if a physical weight had been removed from his chest. After defending the Confederation embassy from increasingly violent attacks this was more than he could have hoped for. “Thank you, Director. I cannot begin to tell you what this means to me and the Confederation.”

_Given who this mess has cost me, it is the least I could do_ , Septilus thought darkly. But he simply acknowledged the batarian’s thanks before he left to speak with the Council.

Kharn watched as Septilus left to speak with the Council. He had to admit that things had gone as well as he could have hoped. Still, he felt a pang of regret that he had lost T’Soni.

As if knowing what Kharn was thinking, Korem turned to look at the other batarian. He remained silent for a moment as he collected his thoughts but eventually asked the only question that mattered to him. “What happened to Eleena?”

Not knowing just what to say Kharn tried to buy himself a bit of time. “You knew her?”

The use of the past tense confirmed Korem’s concerns and he seemed to deflate at the realization that his friend was gone. Not knowing what to say, he simply nodded.

Realizing too late his mistake, Kharn silently scolded himself. “I’m sorry.” It was all he could think to say. With the evidence of Linron involvement in the Hunley assassination and their breaking of galactic laws about to come to light, T’Soni was as good as dead. There was no reason for her to be kept alive and that was assuming she had been taken alive in the first place.

A feeling of emptiness began to fill Korem as he thought of how it had only been a little while ago that he and Eleena had promised to get drinks with their friends. He would have to call those friends and tell them that Eleena would not be joining them.

Needing to be away from the place that had gotten Eleena killed, Korem abruptly stood. “The Confederation thanks you for what you have done.” he said mechanically. “Now, I must get back to work.”

The pain in the younger batarian’s stance was obvious as he left and Kharn was sorry for his part in causing such pain.

“Well played,” Branya said from her seat. Although her words were mocking, her tone was sympathetic. She had had to inform her fair share of people that their friends and loved ones would never be coming home.

“Kid took it better than most,” Kharn said without looking at her. He slumped back in his seat then, suddenly feeling old. It had been some time since he last had been the barer or such news.

Though he had tried to avoid it, his current line of thinking brought him to Karek and his other old friends. He needed to know what had happened. “How did they die?” he finally asked.

“Who?” Branya asked, knowing perfectly well who Kharn meant.

Closing his eyes, Kharn listed out the names of every SIU operative he knew had been working with Karek against Barcob. All the people that he had once loved and betrayed. All the people that he had now lost and would never get to reconcile with.

Closing her own eyes, Branya recalled the room that she and the others had been using on Nasurn. She remembered all the bloodstains and overturned furniture. “They died fighting. Took a number of amphibians with them.”

Kharn knew that duty to the Hegemony had made the prospect of dying in battle acceptable to himself and all of his former SIU friends but now, with the Hegemony gone and so many of his friends gone, it just seemed like a waste.

He opened his eyes when he felt a hand on his arm.

“It’s what they wanted.” Branya said without actually looking at him. “We were all tired,” she said bitterly. “Karek would always give a good speech but we were all just so tired of it all and most of us just wanted a quick out.”

Her bluntness surprised Kharn. She had rarely been one to get right to the point and instead enjoyed using humor to frustrate those she was talking to. And despite her roughened exterior, she had maintained that old mocking voice when speaking with him on the Osiris. He realized now that that mocking was likely an act to hide just how tired and dissatisfied with things she really was.

“This was supposed to be our final act for the Hegemony something that would be remembered in history.” She laughed in her same bitter tone. “It was nonsense, pure varren shit, and we all knew it.”

Kharn watched as Branya’s usual proper posture faltered. It unnerved him to see her like this.

Not realizing that Kharn was closely watching her, Branya continued on. “I just wanted something-anything to have some meaning. What we did for all those years had to mean something! Everything we lost had to mean something!” Her voice rose but the pleading behind it was obvious.

The desperate need to know that their lives had not been worthless was something that Kharn himself had struggled with for years. He could have said that he had found meaning working with the Talons but that would be a lie. The truth was that he was still struggling with the thought that his actions with the SIU had caused more harm to the batarian people than good.

“How’d you do it, Kharn?” Branya asked in a quieter but no less desperate voice. “How’d you manage to just leave?” She looked down at her hands and clenched them both in frustration. She had tried to leave Karek and the others before but she had never been able to find the peace of mind needed to move on.

Kharn did not answer immediately. He knew that Branya was hoping for some answer that would let her cut herself off from or forget the past. Gods knew that he had tried to do that for years. Sadly, he did not have that answer for her.

Raising his hand, he touched the scar on his face. “I don’t think I ever actually left, Branya. Every night I would think of the things we did, of the things that I did. The things that I did for the Hegemony…” His gaze returned to Branya. “What I did to all of you. And I always wonder if things could have happened differently. Would the others still be alive? I don’t know.”

A sigh escaped from Kharn as he thought on all of the regrets he had in his life. “I wish I could say something that would help you, I really do. But so far I’ve failed to help even myself. Every night I think about all the mistakes I’ve made and the regrets that I have. And nothing I’ve done has made any of that any easier.”

Branya tried to keep herself composed but Kharn’s words had struck right at one of her deepest fears. She had hoped, as foolish as it was, that he might have some insight into living with and moving past personal regrets. Would she live with all of her memories and nightmares of the past for the rest of her life?

The two of them sat in silence for some time, both lost in their own thoughts. It was not until a task force agent knocked on the conference room door that either of them said anything.

“Must be after my official statement.” Branya stood and gave Kharn an almost mournful look. They had been friends once but fate and circumstance had destroyed that along with everyone that they had once cared for. “I don’t know how we came to this point but know that while I don’t agree with your choice to side with Barcob I don’t hold any ill will towards you as you are now.” Walking to the door and the waiting agent, Branya gave her old comrade a final nod.

Before she could leave, Kharn spoke up. “I don’t know if we’ll see each other again after this but if we don’t I hope that you’ll be able to find some measure of peace.”

“The same to you, old friend.”

-

As the task force and C-Sec agents went about returning things to normal, Nyssa found herself with nothing to do. Admittedly, she had not tried very hard to get involved. Being around so many humans with obvious connections to the Alliance was something that she had tried to avoid for years. She might have spent time with Renee but, after apologizing profusely, she had chosen to give some first aid to task force agents that had been wounded in the Linron attack.

So, with nothing else to do, Nyssa simply spent her time avoiding all of the humans in the building. That was how she came across Lynora Morix.

The asari had finished debriefing her own companions, almost all of whom had escaped relatively unscathed, and was currently speaking with someone on her omni-tool. Upon seeing Nyssa approach, Lynora quickly wrapped up her call and acknowledged the human.

“Has there been any news on Eleena?” she asked immediately.

Guilt clawed at Nyssa as she shook her head. “I’m sorry but I haven’t heard anything new.”

Lynora deflated and Nyssa could see concern and desperation flash across her face. “Do you have anything that I could use to try and find her? Caeldros hasn’t told me anything other than she was missing.”

Nyssa bit the inside of her cheek and felt her palms start to sweat. Her guilt at leaving Eleena behind began to mix with fear of how Lynora might react. If she struck out at her in anger would she have any right to defend herself?

Looking at Lynora, Nyssa saw the hint of desperation and hopelessness on the asari’s face. How would she feel if something had happened to Renee? That thought finally nudged her into speaking. “I don’t have much information. All I can say with any certainty was that she was last on Nasurn. That was when we came under fire from Linron loyalists.”

Listening to Nyssa, it was clear to Lynora that the human felt an immense amount of guilt about the whole situation. She believed she knew why but had to know for certain. “How did the rest of you get away?”

Steeling herself, Nyssa admitted to doing the one thing that she had promised she would never do to another person. “I… I left her behind.” She could not look Lynora in the eye as she explained. “My ship was taking fire and Eleena couldn’t make it back to us. We didn’t have a choice and she knew it. She told us to go to get the evidence back to the task force.”

Although Lynora knew that Eleena would have said just that, it did not keep her own emotions from boiling over. “You left her behind.” Her voice had lost its desperate tone and had instead gone cold.

The expression on Lynora’s face might have caused a lesser person to cower but Nyssa remained where she stood. “I’m sorry.”

A faint blue glow appeared on Lynora’s closed fist as she stepped closer to Nyssa. “Your feelings don’t really help me or her.”

Nyssa lowered her head and tried to ignore the way her flash training screamed at her to defend against the asari’s biotics. “No, they don’t.”

Suddenly realizing that she was breathing hard and flaring her biotics, Lynora closed her eyes and took a step back. She had to calm down. This misplaced anger would solve nothing. Allowing her biotics to flicker out of existence, she opened her eyes and let out a long breath. “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t your fault, I just…”

Reaching out, Nyssa put a hand on Lynora’s shoulder. The asari might not hold her responsible for what happened but she still held herself responsible. “You don’t have to apologize. It was my fault. I could’ve stayed. I should’ve stayed. But I didn’t.” She swallowed past a lump in her throat and found that she could not continue. Once again, the memory of Brooks leaving her behind took center stage in her mind. Would she never be free of that accursed memory? Did she deserve to be free of it after she had done the same thing?

The fact that Nyssa experiencing a significant amount of inner turmoil was obvious. A part of Lynora wanted Nyssa to suffer with her turmoil but another more rational part of her knew that that was unfair. Eleena had obviously trusted Nyssa enough to recruit her and have her bring information to Caeldros. It was not right for her to punish this woman for what happened. “From what you said it was her choice that you leave, not yours.”

While Lynora’s words made sense, Nyssa still felt guilty. “If you need anything, please let me know.” She looked back to the task force building and then back to Lynora. “I still need to finish some paperwork with Caeldros but after that I’m going to do everything I can to try and find her.”

A very faint smile appeared on Lynora’s face though it was overshadowed by her slumped shoulders and downcast eyes. “Thank you.”

* * *

  **-Condemned STG blacksite**

Eleena T’Soni was in agony. Every fiber of her being felt as if they were being torn apart in a million different ways.

Had she been able to form coherent thoughts, she might have been darkly impressed at how the Linron concoction that was being pumped into her could keep her in such constant pain. But coherent thought had been lost to her as soon as the drug took effect.

Ever since the Dalatrass had left, Eleena had been screaming in pain and writhing as much as her bonds would allow. Recently however her voice had given out and now only guttural sounds escaped from her.

The galaxy, people she cared for, self-preservation, everything had ceased to have any meaning. Her existence had been reduced to nothing but pain. Had she been asked her name she likely would not have been able to remember it.

With cold efficiency, the medical table moved to ensure that blood did not settle at Eleena’s back. Eleena herself did not notice anything and she simply continued to suffer for her own and her father’s actions.

After enduring for so long, thoughts of unconsciousness or even death would have been sweeter than a lover’s embrace to Eleena. But the pain did not stop and any hopes or thoughts Eleena might have used to comfort herself were lost in her suffering.

Alone in the forgotten facility, Eleena T’Soni had no choice but to continue to endure the pain that Linron was inflicting upon her.

* * *

  **-Citadel Council Chambers**

Septilus Caeldros took a seat in the closed Council chambers. “Councilors. If I may, I would like to start by making a statement for the record.”  When he received no objection, he continued on. “The files I am about to share with you indicate that the previous Dalatrass Linron personally authorized the use of Tier IV WMDs, in direct violation of the Citadel Conventions. Testimony from sources close to the Dalatrass will show that they were aware of the Confederation’s possession of these files and that they conspired to frame the Confederation for Alliance Ambassador Hunley’s assassination, in the hopes that it would prevent the signing of the Treaty of London and the exposure of their past crimes.”

* * *

_As the Council hearings continue, a Narra spokesperson has released a statement claiming that any violation of the Citadel Conventions occurred prior to their bloodline winning elections over the Linrons. However, many have expressed doubts that the use of Tier IV WMDs on Krogan worlds would go unnoticed by the second most powerful bloodline in the Salarian Union. We have with us now…_

_-_

_Galaxy wide warrants for the arrest of the current Dalatrass Linron and her supporters have been issued by the Citadel Council._

_-_

_Systems Alliance Prime Minister Alexander Smyrnoi met with Confederation leader Dholla Barcob to formally apologize for believing that the Confederation was responsible for the assassination of Ambassador Hunley. He went on to condemn the actions of the remaining Linron supporters and to promise to lend any aid necessary to bring the responsible parties to justice._

_-_

_Confirmation of Dholla Barcob as Confederation Councilor is once again underway as is the signing of the Treaty of London._

_-_

_Councilors have expressed interest in expanding the galactic anti-terror task force given their invaluable efforts in exposing the Linron conspiracy. Task force Director Septilus Caeldros was unavailable for comment but…_

_-_

_Rumors continue to abound that high-ranking task force agents have gone missing in their continued efforts to find and capture remaining Linron supporters._

* * *

  **-Task Force Headquarters**

Admiral Claire Shepard and Doctor Liara T’Soni sat across from task force Director Septilus Caeldros. It had taken them some time to confirm that their daughter was in fact missing. For years now, they had respected their daughter’s privacy and kept from using their considerable resources to keep tabs on her. But with the rumors that task force agents had gone missing they had to check and see if their daughter was safe. To their horror they discovered that Eleena had in fact been missing since before the exposure of the Linron involvement in Hunley’s assassination.

Even worse than learning their daughter was missing was their inability to find any trace of her. They had used every connection they had on both sides of the law and had come up with nothing. Whatever had happened to Eleena had been done very quietly.

Now, without any other options they had gone to Eleena’s place of work to ask what the task force knew about their daughter’s disappearance.

“I understand that you’re both concerned but the truth is that neither of you have the clearance to know the details of any assignments that your daughter may or may not have been working on.” Septilus spoke in a level voice that hid his personal feelings on the matter.

Clenching her fist Shepard was unable to keep her voice free of anger. “She’s our daughter! You can’t just stonewall us like this!”

Doctor T’Soni placed a calming hand on her bondmate’s knee but also failed to keep her own face from showing her obvious anger at the situation. “My bondmate is correct, Director. We are her family. We had the right to know that our daughter had gone missing.” Her voice was level but there was an unmistakable coldness behind it.

Although he himself was not a parent, Septilus had long felt protective of Eleena. As a result, he had often felt guilty for recruiting and taking advantage of Eleena’s desire to help the galaxy at large. But he had always tried to be there for the young asari whenever she needed someone to talk to both as her boss but more significantly as her friend. Now being before two people that had failed to be there for Eleena made him bristle with annoyance.

Knowing that a confrontation would solve nothing, he kept himself calm and collected during his response. “You are right in that you are both her birth parents. If it had been any other agent you would both have likely been informed that she was missing. But Assistant Director T’Soni did not have either of you listed as contacts in her personnel file.”

While both Shepard and Liara were well aware of their daughter’s disinterest in them, it still cut deeply to hear that neither of them were even in Eleena’s file.

Septilus watched as both parents appeared to shrink slightly in their chairs. It was odd, seeing these two heroes of the reaper war being brought low by his words. He doubted that many in the galaxy would approve of his treatment of them but at the moment he did not care. If either of them had wanted to play a greater part in their daughter’s life they should have made time for her.  

In the silence following Septilus’ words both Shepard and Liara were forced to think on their past choices and the regrets those choices had caused.

Liara looked down at her hands and felt a wave a nausea as she thought back on how she had taken her daughter for granted.

At the time, her actions following Eleena’s birth had seemed so necessary. Yes, the reapers had been destroyed but the galaxy still had to deal with the damage that the Crucible had caused and people everywhere were in desperate need of help. She, Shepard, and the rest of the Normandy’s crew were seen as beacons of hope by the galaxy. So, they had done their duty and did their best to help as many people as possible. Unfortunately, she had not realized that helping the galaxy meant neglecting her daughter.

Closing her eyes in shame, Liara admitted to herself that she had not been ready to give up her own life not even for Eleena. She had and still loved the influence and impact that her role as the Shadow Broker gave her. It allowed her to feel that she was changing things for the better, not just for asari but for everyone in the galaxy. But above all, that position of power had let her feel as if she was actually in control of her life. She was no longer at the mercy of those that were more powerful than she which meant she could freely make her own decisions.

She supposed it was ironic that after she had gained control over her own life she had lost complete control of her daughter’s.

_You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is a power in creation. To shape a life… turn it towards happiness of despair…_

Some of her mother’s final words came back to her now. There certainly had been a power in creation. She and Shepard had both basked in it when Eleena had first been born. But all of that power had quickly been lost to her and what she had used seemed to shape far more despair than happiness. She wondered if Benezia had also felt this way after their own estrangement.

_Did you lose your own mother as well? Is our line simply not meant to be parents? Or is this the price that we both paid for our power and influence?_

Looking over, Shepard could see just how badly Eleena’s estrangement was making Liara feel. Though they rarely talked about it, Shepard had long suspected that Liara compared herself to Benezia when it came to being a parent. If that was the case, Shepard wanted to offer some kind of comfort but her own personal doubts and insecurities kept her silent. Had she herself become just like the nameless parents that had given birth to and then abandoned her on the streets of Earth?

A feeling of immense shame threatened to overwhelm Shepard as she recalled the personal struggles that she had dealt with growing up on her own. It had been difficult, always being alone and had led to a lot of anger. She might have gone and become a lifelong criminal had it not been for the Alliance. Of course, she was aware that she Alliance had targeted her because she was an orphan. She wondered if Eleena had been targeted in the same way by these law enforcement agencies. Orphans always made the best recruits after all.

Not wanting to think more on her greatest failure, Shepard swallowed past a lump in her throat. “Is there anything that we can do to help find her?” She asked in a soft voice that was far from the loud and angry tone she had first used.

Keeping his own expression blank, Septilus silently appraised both of them. “I assume that you both have already been looking for her yourselves.”

Both Shepard and Liara nodded.

“While I would normally welcome your assistance, I doubt that either of you would be here if you had any of your own leads.” He hung his head slightly as he continued to speak. “The truth is that we have no idea where she is. The Linron’s were in power for years and have undocumented facilities across the galaxy.”

“So, what are you saying?” Shepard asked in a desperate voice. “There’s nothing anyone can do?”

“At this point, the best way to help her is to capture as many Linron supporters as possible and to find their current Dalatrass. She went into hiding some time before the Council hearings started.”

“You think that the Dalatrass knows where Eleena is?”

Septilus had to keep his mandibles under careful control as he answered. It would not do to have these parents realize that finding Eleena, no matter how much he himself might care for her as a friend and colleague, was not the priority. Capturing the Linron supporters and ensuring a smooth welcome of the Confederation onto the Citadel Council were the priorities. “I think that finding the Dalatrass is the best chance to find Eleena.”

Liara grasped onto Septilus’ words like they were a lifeline. They were the only hint of hope that she had had in weeks.

Shepard on the other hand seemed to realize the truth and her expression changed from a look of desperation to utter defeat. She had said similar things herself to the grieving and scared family members of marines that had either died or gone missing while under her command. And while she might have held out some hope that any missing marines might have still been alive the truth was that finding them and recovering the dead was always secondary to any ongoing operations.

Feeling as if her stomach had just dropped out of her body, Shepard realized that, as far as the big picture was concerned, her daughter was expendable.


End file.
